Boxoffice - December 2017

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DECEMBER 2017
THE IMMERSIVE
EXPERIENCE
A LOOK AT TODAY’S
LEADING IMMERSIVE
SEATING PROVIDERS
PREMIUM
SEATING
HOW INVESTMENT IN
THEATER RENOVATIONS
CAN IMPACT EXHIBITION
IN 2018 AND BEYOND
LARGER
THAN LIFE
DIRECTOR
MICHAEL GRACEY
BRINGS THE GREATEST
SHOWMAN TO THE
BIG SCREEN
LUXURY
CINEMAS
U.S. CINEMAS ADDING
AN INTERNATIONAL TWIST
ENDING ON
A STRONG NOTE
TRISH SIE DIRECTS THE
FINAL INSTALLMENT OF
THE PITCH PERFECT FRANCHISE
HIGHLY
ANTICIPATED
HOW THE FIRST HALF
OF 2018 IS SHAPING UP
AT THE BOX OFFICE
NATO ON
CAPITOL HILL
PROJECTING THE
VOICE OF EXHIBITION
The Official Magazine of the National Association of Theatre Owners

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2017 VOL. 153 NO. 12
>> Movie theaters occupy a special place in our lives. We
usually ask filmmakers we interview in this magazine to share a
cherished moviegoing memory, and it’s no surprise to me that
many of them are able to name a specific theater.
For me, it’s when Cinemark came to my hometown in Mexico,
Queretaro, in 1996. It was the first multiplex in town, and
in many ways it was where I began my love affair with movies
and the practice of moviegoing itself. I’ve never shaken off the
excitement of going into a new movie theater for the first time;
it’s stayed with me ever since.
That love affair followed me to high school in Miami.
The cinemas of my teenage years are still there—the AMC
Sunset Place 24, where every seat on a Friday night was filled by a student from the area’s high
schools; the UA Falls 12, where I applied to work one summer (if you guys are reading this, I’m
still waiting for a call, but my availability is limited); and the AMC (now Cinépolis) Coconut
Grove, where the programming would include art house titles during awards season. There
would be the occasional pilgrimage to the Regal South Beach Stadium 18 to catch a Woody Allen
or Pedro Almodóvar movie, a place I still visit alongside most of you for ShowEast industry
screenings. These movie theaters were a big part of my teenage years, and I often find myself
returning whenever I’m back in town.
This past October, while I was in Miami for ShowEast, I decided to make a trip to a couple
of new theaters: the Landmark at Merrick Park and the CMX Brickell City Centre. Admittedly,
it was in preparation for this issue’s article on luxury cinemas (at least that’s what I jotted down
on my expense report), but it was hard to contain my enthusiasm as I began walking through
both facilities. Parts of Miami were unrecognizable from the impact of Hurricane Irma, but
both theaters emanated that familiar sense of comfort and excitement of a trip to the movies.
This issue features our look into the impact of luxury cinemas on the U.S market, as well as
a story on the ongoing influence of premium seating across theaters of all sizes. Continuing our
dive into the seating trend, you’ll also find an in-depth profile of four leading immersive seating
providers—a technology that has seen further expansion in recent years.
Following the success of La La Land during last year’s holiday season, we also spotlight two
upcoming movies that hope to keep the music playing this year: Fox’s The Greatest Showman
and Universal’s Pitch Perfect 3. And finally, as this year comes to a close, we begin our look at
2018 in our social media column, where we crunch the numbers on the most talked-about
movies of the coming six months.
From everyone here at Boxoffice, thank you for your support. Happy holidays!
FEATURES
PREMIUM SEATING
How investment in premium seating can
impact exhibition in 2018 and beyond
32
THE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
A look at some of today’s leading
immersive seating providers
36
BEST IN CLASS
Luxury cinemas in the U.S. come
with an international twist
41
FILMMAKER FORUM
LARGER THAN LIFE
Director Michael Gracey brings
The Greatest Showman to the big screen
44
ENDING ON A STRONG NOTE
Trish Sie directs Pitch Perfect 3,
the final film in the popular franchise
48
Daniel Loria
Editorial Director
Boxoffice Media
Daniel@Boxoffice.com
6 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

egularfeatures
BOXOFFICE MEDIA
CEO
Julien Marcel
VP CREATIVE SERVICES
6 HELLO
Kenneth James Bacon
VP CONTENT STRATEGY
Daniel Loria
8 EXHIBITION BRIEFS
14 EXECUTIVE SUITE
BOXOFFICE ®
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Daniel Loria
MANAGING EDITOR
Laura Silver
CONTRIBUTORS
16 GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
20 CHARITY SPOTLIGHT
24 INDIE FOCUS brought to you by Spotlight Cinema Networks
Esther Baruh
Russ Collins
Alex Edghill
Chris Eggertsen
John Fithian
Erica Lopez
Robert Rinderman
Jesse Rifkin
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Ally Bacon
BOXOFFICEPRO.COM
28 SOCIAL MEDIA
CHIEF ANALYST
Shawn Robbins
ANALYSTS
30 LEVERAGING INNOVATION brought to you by Atom Tickets
Alex Edghill
Jesse Rifkin
DATABASE MANAGEMENT
Diogo Busato
52 3D CALENDAR brought to you by RealD
Connie Sechrist
ADVERTISING
VP, ADVERTISING
54 ON SCREEN
72 BOOKING GUIDE
Susan Uhrlass
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Ridgefield, CT USA 06877
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SUBSCRIPTIONS
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80 MARKETPLACE
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DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 7

EXHIBITION BRIEFS
NATIONAL AMUSEMENTS APPOINTS
NEW GENERAL COUNSEL
>> National Amusements Inc. has
promoted Paula Keough (left) to general
counsel. Keough will oversee and
identify legal issues in all departments,
including corporate governance and
business policy, for the company’s Showcase,
Multiplex, SuperLux, and Cinema
de Lux brands.
Keough joined National Amusements
in 1999, initially managing company
litigation. Over her nearly 20 years with
the company, her role has expanded into
many areas, including corporate risk
assessment, compliance, insurance, and
employment matters. In her new role, she
will be a key member of the corporate
decision-making team. Prior to National
Amusements, Keough practiced law in
Boston in the areas of litigation, real
estate, and estate planning.
“Paula has been an integral member of
our legal team for many years,” said Shari
Redstone, president of National Amusements.
“We are proud to instate her as
our new general counsel, where she will
continue to be a trusted advisor to our
senior leadership team.”
IPIC INKS DEAL WITH PVR
>> PVR Limited, India’s largest film
exhibition company, has agreed to acquire
a minority stake in iPic-Gold Class Entertainment
Inc. iPic owns and operates 16
locations with 121 screens and 10 restaurants
across 10 U.S. states. iPic’s facilities
each include a restaurant, full-service
bar, and luxury auditoriums for both
Hollywood movies and nontraditional
content such as concerts and eGaming.
iPic previously announced its intention
to file a Regulation A+ initial public
offering that will allow the general public
the opportunity to invest in its luxury
restaurant and theater concept. iPic has
agreed to appoint Ajay Bijli, chairman
and managing director of PVR Limited,
to its board of directors upon completion
of its initial public offering.
“We are very pleased to be gaining
PVR as a talented and strategic partner
during this exciting time for iPic as we
work towards becoming a publicly traded
company,” said Hamid Hashemi, CEO
and founder. “We welcome Mr. Bijli to
our board of directors and believe his
knowledge and experience will prove
invaluable to iPic’s growth and expansion
in new U.S. markets as well as overseas.”
Individuals interested in learning
more about the iPic Entertainment
Regulation A+ investment opportunity
can register an indication of interest by
visiting www.banq.co/listings/ipic.
D-BOX ADDS 16 SCREENS IN LATAM
>> D-BOX Technologies Inc., the immersive
seating company, and Cinemark, the
Latin American exhibitor, have announced
the addition of 16 new D-BOX screens in
Argentina, Brazil, and, for the first time,
Honduras. This brings the total number of
D-BOX screens in Latin America to 120.
“Partnering with the amazing people
at Cinemark again means a lot to us
because they are entirely committed
to offering their customers innovative,
unparalleled entertainment experiences,”
said Claude Mc Master, president
and CEO of D-BOX. “As the leader in
motion seating technology, with more
than 650 screens in nearly 40 countries
around the world, we understand how
competitive the entertainment industry
is, and we are happy to use our proven
technology and wealth of knowledge to
help Cinemark offer the D-BOX experience
to even more moviegoers in Central
and South America.”
8 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

“We are more focused than ever
on offering our customers premium
entertainment experiences that are as
exciting for them as they are profitable
for us,” said Valmir Fernandes, president
of Cinemark International.
CLASSIC CINEMAS TO INSTALL
DTS:X AUDIO
>> DTS has announced a partnership
with Classic Cinemas to install DTS:X
immersive audio technology at 16
screens at five Classic Cinemas locations.
Installation of DTS:X-certified equipment
has begun and will be completed
by spring 2018 at the following locations:
Charlestowne 18 (St. Charles,
Ill.), Cinema 12 (Carpentersville, Ill.),
Lake Theatre (Oak Park, Ill.), North
Riverside Luxury 6 (North Riverside,
Ill.), and York Theatre (Elmhurst, Ill.).
“We are truly pleased to partner with
Classic Cinemas and provide the DTS:X
experience in their historic venues,” said
Bill Neighbors, GM, cinema, digital
media and streaming solutions, at DTS.
“The flexibility of DTS:X allows Classic
Cinemas the ability to offer their guests
a premium experience that is true to the
filmmakers’ intent, while allowing for the
historic preservation of their theaters.”
“We appreciate and celebrate history
as well as innovation, and our partnership
with DTS demonstrates our
passion,” said Chris Johnson, CEO of
Classic Cinemas. “Installing DTS:X-certified
equipment in our auditoriums
will deliver a premium experience to our
guests in a cost-efficient way, thanks to
the technology’s inherent flexibility and
most importantly, first-class sound.”
To date, more than 120 theatrical
titles have been released and exhibited
with a DTS:X soundtrack, more than
500 screens around the world have
added DTS:X, and more than 60 mixing
stages in 17 countries have installed
DTS:X production tools.
ARTS ALLIANCE MEDIA ACQUIRED
BY LUXIN-RIO
>> Arts Alliance Media (AAM), an
operational software solution provider
to the cinema industry, announced its
acquisition by Shandong Luxin-Rio
Visual Technology Co. Ltd. (Luxin-Rio)
of Qingdao, China.
The acquisition complements Luxin-Rio’s
existing portfolio of companies
and investments in the cinema industry.
Despite its assets in 3D and 4D technologies,
this is Luxin-Rio’s first venture into
software solutions. AAM will form the
basis of Luxin-Rio’s strategy for bringing
software solutions to a global cinema
market; AAM currently provides business
solutions to over 80 exhibitors.
Jiang Dong, chairman of Luxin-Rio
Group, said “This is a very exciting
time for Luxin-Rio. The opportunity to
acquire a quality asset such as AAM does
not come up very often. We have been
very impressed with what AAM has been
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 9

EXHIBITION BRIEFS
able to achieve, its customer base, its
product lines, and the quality of its people.
Our mission is to service the cinema
industry globally with great technology,
and AAM is a major piece of the puzzle
in achieving that goal.”
John Aalbers, CEO at AAM, commented
“This is an excellent result for AAM and
for our staff, customers, and partners alike.
Luxin-Rio has the ambition and resources
to take AAM to the next level of global
expansion. With Luxin-Rio’s help, AAM
is now very well placed to innovate further
and drive the cinema software evolution
in a post–virtual print fee (VPF) world
by bringing more value creating software
solutions to our customers.”
Luxin-Rio plans to leverage its existing
presence in China to increase AAM’s
sales reach as well as its deployment and
support capabilities for that region. AAM
already has a number of customers in
China, including Wanda Cinema Line.
Outside China, AAM will continue to
service its customers from its headquarters
in London and its emerging presence in
North America.
CENTERPLEX TO DEPLOY DOLBY
ATMOS IN BRAZIL
>> Centerplex Cinemas of Brazil recently
announced plans to deliver Dolby
Atmos immersive audio to 10 screens
throughout Brazil, becoming the first exhibitor
in Brazil to install the latest Dolby
technology. The installation is expected to
be completed by the end of 2018.
“At Centerplex, we believe in using
the most revolutionary and state-of-theart
technologies to ensure patrons are
fully immersed in the story unfolding
on screen,” said Marcio Eli, Centerplex
CEO. “With these new offerings, it
is now easier and more cost effective
to deploy Dolby Atmos and upgrade
our screens with the latest image and
sound capabilities, which aligns with
our mission to deliver the ultimate
moviegoing experience.”
“Dolby looks forward to working
with Centerplex to integrate the latest
audio and imaging technology with
the Dolby IMS3000, multichannel
amplifier, and SLS loudspeakers to our
cinemas in Brazil,” said Jed Harmsen,
senior director, cinema products, Dolby
Laboratories. “With Dolby Atmos, the
audience is no longer just watching a
movie; they are experiencing it, and
we are confident that moviegoers will
continue to seek out the extraordinary
experience that only Dolby delivers.”
METROPOLITAN APPOINTS NEW
MARCOM DIRECTOR
>> Natalie Eig has been named director
of marketing and communications for
Metropolitan Theatres. Eig will develop
and execute strategic marketing, promotions,
and partnership initiatives with
additional oversight of the company’s
overall communications.
In making the announcement, Dale
Davison, senior vice president, operations
and development, said, “We are thrilled
to welcome Natalie to our corporate
team. As a seasoned marketing executive,
Natalie brings a wealth of expertise,
insight, and ingenuity that will help
leverage valuable partnerships to enable
us to further succeed in creating brand
loyalty among our valued customers while
establishing new programs to expand our
consumer base.”
Prior to joining the company, Eig was
an account director with Vistex, responsible
for business development within
the independent film and music category
for North and South America. Previously
Eig held roles at CBS Radio as the
director of integrated marketing, and at
the Walt Disney Company as the senior
marketing director, where she developed
integrated marketing programs driving
revenue growth for the Radio Disney
brand.
Metropolitan Theatres, a fourth-generation
family-owned theater circuit launched
in 1923, has 16 theaters across California,
Colorado, Idaho, and Utah. It will begin
construction on a new state-of-the-art venue
in Loveland, Colorado, early next year.
SURVEYME PARTNERS WITH FUN
ACADEMY STUDIOS
>> SurveyMe, the movie survey app, and
Fun Academy Studios have announced a
partnership in which SurveyMe users will
give live feedback about movie trailers. The
companies will collaborate to gather marketing
feedback on trailers for the April
2018 release of Sgt. Stubby: An American
Hero. SurveyMe app users will have the
chance to win prizes including merchandise
and tickets to the premiere of the film.
“SurveyMe takes an innovative
approach to the film industry, merging
partner initiatives with a consumer feedback
system that’s known for its advanced
interface,” Crystal W. Trawick, COO,
Fun Academy Studios, said. “We couldn’t
be more excited to partner with their
extraordinary team and look forward to
our film, Sgt. Stubby, entering the market
alongside SurveyMe.”
“By partnering with SurveyMe, Fun
Academy Studios will be tapping into
our established network of moviegoers
and not only getting live feedback, but
generating advance ticket sales,” said Lee
Evans, CEO, SurveyMe. “Users will absolutely
love Stubby and the rewards Fun
Academy Studios has in store for them.”
Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero is slated
to premiere on April 13, 2018, and tells
the incredible true story of a stray dog who
became a hero of the First World War.
For his keen instincts and fierce loyalty,
Stubby is still recognized today as the most
decorated canine in American history and
the first promoted to the rank of sergeant
in the U.S. Army.
4DX PARTNERS WITH KITAG, EXPANDS
TO SWITZERLAND
>> 4DX has partnered with cinema
exhibitor Kitag Cinemas. The cinema
operator is the largest in German-speaking
Switzerland with 85 screens and 17,000
seats. The new 4DX auditorium will be located
at Kitag Cinemas Abaton in Zurich,
which has 12 auditoriums with a total of
1,759 seats. It is scheduled to open before
the end of the year.
10 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

“We are very happy for Kitag Cinemas
to join forces with 4DX so that Swiss moviegoers
can enjoy a cinematic experience
that draws them into the movie further
than ever before through environmental
and motion effects,” said Grégoire Schnegg,
head of real estate at Kitag Cinemas.
The new partnership comes on the
heels of previous growth for CJ 4DPLEX,
the immersive cinema technology format
behind 4DX, in Europe. 4DX has opened
15 new 4DX screens in Europe, increasing
the number of seats on the continent
by 32.6 percent. In 2017 so far, new theaters
have opened in Hungary, Norway,
France, Turkey, the UK, Austria, Romania,
the Czech Republic, and Poland.
As of November 2017, more than
8,000 4DX seats have been installed at 62
screens in 17 European countries, with
the capacity to accommodate nearly 14.7
million moviegoers. The European 4DX
footprint accounts for 14.5 percent of the
426 4DX screens worldwide. n
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 11

EXHIBITION BRIEFS
NEW PRODUCTS
4DX
>> Immersive seating player 4DX’s new 4DX VR Disk
unit allows people to explore 360 degrees of virtual
reality without having to place their feet on the floor.
The disk rotates horizontally and gives the feeling of
actually being in a particular environment and able to
move around freely. The 4DX VR Disk also gives users
the feeling of acceleration and deceleration and can
be used with any VR head-mounted device (HMD) as
well as in coordination with any VR content, including
gaming and short films.
CHRISTIE
>> The Christie CP4325-RGB boasts an innovative design
and direct-coupled RGB illumination system. It delivers
4K resolution, enhanced contrast ratios, and high
frame rates, and offers a wide color gamut that exceeds
DCI P3 specs. Perhaps most strikingly, its compact “all-inone”
form factor does not require any external cooling,
which significantly reduces system complexity and
costs. The first in Christie’s TrueLaser lineup, the CP4325-
RGB can be depended upon to deliver an operational
life of more than 30,000 hours, with an 80 percent
brightness delivery over this time. It has a contrast ratio
of up to 6000:1 and pumps out 23,000 DCI lumens,
making it perfect for mainstream cinema uses.
GDC TECHNOLOGY
>> The GDC Cinema Automation 2.0 is a centralized
solution to automatically manage content storage
and playback, show scheduling, power supply, and
screening quality. The solution features the SCL-1000
Centralized Storage Playback Solution, an integrated
centralized storage and playback system designed to
streamline content management, with key operational
benefits that include a reduction of content ingestion
time, an increase in playback reliability, and additional
content storage for each auditorium.
12 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
INTER-SOCIETY DIGITAL
CINEMA FORUM (ISDCF)
UPDATE
JOHN FITHIAN
JERRY PIERCE
AN INTERVIEW WITH JERRY PIERCE
by John Fithian, President & CEO, NATO
>> The Inter-Society’s Digital Cinema Forum
remains the primary meeting ground for those that
maintain the technical side of digital cinema. No
one at the first meeting in 2006 likely knew that
digital cinema would continue to evolve a constant
pace for the next 11 years—with no sign of
stopping.
Boxoffice reported on ISDCF’s activities in
2010 and again in 2015, but as the pace of change
has accelerated, we decided to check in. NATO’s
John Fithian reached out to Jerry Pierce, ISDCF’s
chairman and one of its founders, to find out
what’s new at ISDCF.
Jerry, you have been chairman of ISDCF for 11
years—how long will it last?
Every year I ask the attendees of the meeting if
we could just stop meeting. Every time the answer
is no, we still need this forum. I know it is still
working since we always have a full house of 20 to
30 people in person and another 10 to 20 on the
phone. People wouldn’t spend three to four hours
in a meeting if it wasn’t providing value. I don’t see
an end in sight!
Thirty people for a four-hour meeting? Who are
these people? Don’t they have a life?
Primarily nerds. We have studio representatives,
vendors, exhibitors, and services providers. It is
really an amazing set of skills in the room—I don’t
think there are any questions about cinema technology
and standards that could be answered by a
more knowledgeable audience.
What are the hot topics today?
Surprisingly, the list is fairly long. Some of the
topics have been with us for quite a while, but are
still hot topics.
ISDCF is very pragmatic in helping the
industry move away from the distribution format
Interop-DCP to the better, more stable SMPTE-
DCP format. We have been working on this for
at least eight years. With the help of ISDCF, one
studio has sent out a letter to exhibition that they
plan to only release SMPTE-DCP in 2018. Finally!
ISDCF is also the home of test material used to
make sure systems are ready for new features—like
SMPTE-DCP or high frame rate.
We also maintain a set of technical documents
that are posted on our website. These documents
fill in the gap in setting guidelines that are not
or should not be officially standardized. Official
standards are a job for SMPTE [Society of Motion
Picture and Television Engineers]. ISDCF has
technical documents on topics from how to format
hard drives for delivery to theaters to the best way
to prepare caption information in the digital cinema
package to audio layouts, and we just added a
document on how to package sign language video
in the DCP.
ISDCF is the home of the Digital Cinema
Naming Convention. We maintain the website
that keeps it current and registers studios and
facilities for using a code in the name. It’s still
changing; we just added sign language video to the
naming convention.
Sign language? Tell me more about that.
Actually that is a good example of how ISDCF
helps the industry. In this case it started in Brazil.
There is a deaf population in Brazil who only
use sign language to communicate. They want to
experience movies like the rest of us. The Brazilian
government is requiring a way for these folks to
see a smartphone–like device with a person signing
during the movie.
The studios presented the problem to ISDCF
about nine months ago—we socialized the problem
and provided feedback for possible solutions.
Did I mention how many smart folks are in the
room? After this, the studios began delivering
sign language video as part of the DCP. ISDCF
was able to help by quickly publishing documents
that defined what they were delivering and
also added to the naming convention so theater
operators would know what was being delivered.
But that is not the end of the story. The studios
provided a solution that meets the needs of
studios, but may be problematic for exhibitors.
There will be more meetings in the future to
continue this discussion.
14 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

What do you think is the most unique part of
ISDCF?
Of course that is easy—the people! I think our
most innovative contribution is our “plugfests.”
These are events that bring together many manufactures,
vendors, and service providers into a
single room to test systems for playback of unique
new attributes of digital cinema. We have tested
SMPTE-DCP, high frame rate, on-screen captions,
closed-caption systems, and more over the
years. Probably this testing and collaboration has
single-handedly solved more problems before they
became real problems in the field.
What’s next for ISDCF?
We continue to meet every six weeks or so in
the Burbank area. The meetings are open to all—
but we ask folks to become members of Inter-Society
to help offset some of the costs of maintaining
ISDCF. We are looking forward to the next plugfest,
which will probably focus on testing the new
SMPTE standard for immersive sound, or maybe
Brazilian sign language. Each meeting brings up
new topics! More information can be found on the
ISDCF website, www.isdcf.com. n
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 15

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
PROJECTING THE VOICE
OF EXHIBITION
ESTHER BARUH
NATO ON CAPITOL HILL
by Esther Baruh,
NATO Director, Government Relations
>> The right to petition the government for a
redress of grievances is a hallmark of American
democracy. Every citizen is entitled to come before
the Congress and the executive branch to support,
oppose, protest, or champion any matter to effect
change and influence the legislative and rule-making
processes, whether by e-mail, phone call, or
personal meeting.
One of the most distinctive aspects of the
United States Congress is the relative ease with
which average Americans can walk the corridors
of power in Washington and visit with their
representatives. Senators and members of Congress
maintain open-door policies, allowing any
constituents to visit with them and their staff. Our
elected officials are keenly aware of constituent
opinion, and, when considering what position
to adopt on a bill, will consult with their staff to
find out who is writing to them and on what, how
many calls they’ve received, and what meetings
they have held. Remaining engaged with one’s
representatives is key to impacting their votes,
co-sponsorship status on legislation, and overall
attitude toward an issue.
For a trade association to succeed in advocating
for the priorities of its membership, there are no
more important players than the members themselves.
It is the business owners who write to their
representatives on important legislation, who come
to Washington and meet with them in person, who
are energetic and active constituents—they are the
ones who have the most impact. An industry that
unites behind its legislative priorities and speaks
loudly with one voice is an industry that is seen
and heard, and a force with which to reckon.
On November 1–2, NATO members gathered
in Washington, DC, for the 2017 NATO Capitol
Hill Fly-In. The attendees represented the
breadth of the industry, from national circuits to
family-owned regional businesses to Main Street
cinema operators. These dedicated participants
projected the voice of exhibition on Capitol Hill
to advocate for bills important to the health of the
industry. NATO members urged their Senators
and members of Congress to support legislation
creating a notice-and-cure period to address the
problem of ADA drive-by lawsuits; legislation
amending the full-time employee definition to 40
hours per week under the Affordable Care Act;
and legislation establishing a stricter joint employer
standard. These three bills would substantially
reduce present burdens on exhibitors and mitigate
the risk of litigation.
Prior to the meetings on Capitol Hill, the
fly-in participants gathered at the Hyatt Regency,
just minutes from the Capitol, for an afternoon
of programming, learning, and networking. The
program included a session with noted Democratic
pollster Mark Mellman, CEO of The Mellman
Group. Mellman engaged participants in a lively
discussion about the 2016 presidential elections
and its implications for the 2018 midterms. Mellman’s
talk was followed by a comprehensive issues
briefing to prepare exhibitors for their meetings.
After a cocktail hour, the fly-in participants
enjoyed a private evening tour of the U.S. Capitol
with Rep. Roger Marshall (R-KS) facilitated by Rob
Bruchman, vice president of government affairs
at AMC Theatres. The tour group visited areas
normally off-limits to the public, including the
House floor and the Speaker’s Balcony, where the
group enjoyed a tall cold one in the company of the
Congressman, his staff, and their fellow exhibitors.
The next day, the participants were off to one
of the most substantive Hill Days in NATO history,
with a schedule that included meetings with
nearly 50 House and Senate offices. The group
met with Republicans and Democrats representing
districts in Alabama, California, Connecticut,
Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey,
New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and
Wyoming. In the meetings, exhibitors thanked
members of Congress who were current co-sponsors
of the various bills and urged others to join
on as co-sponsors.
NATOPAC continued its annual tradition of
holding an event for an elected official who is a
strong ally of the exhibition industry. NATOPAC
supporters met for breakfast with Rep. Bob Goodlatte
(R-VA), the chairman of the House Judiciary
16 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

CHASE FAIRCHILD OF FAIRCHILD CINEMAS IN PASCO, WA (R) MEETS WITH REP. DAN NEWHOUSE (R-WA) (L)
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHASE FAIRCHILD
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 17

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
NATO MEMBERS ENJOY A
PRIVATE EVENING TOUR OF THE
U.S. CAPITOL WITH REP. ROGER
MARSHALL (R-KS)
PHOTO: JOHN FITHIAN
Committee and an avid moviegoer. Rep. Goodlatte
discussed his committee’s priorities of ADA litigation
reform, immigration reform, criminal justice
reform, and intellectual property protection.
The meetings on Capitol Hill have already borne
fruit, with progress on all three pieces of legislation.
Members of Congress from around the country
signed on as co-sponsors to the ADA drive-by
lawsuits bill and the 40-hour workweek bill within
days. Congress voted on the joint employer standard
bill five days after meeting with NATO members.
All the Republicans who met with NATO delivered
on their pledges to support the bill and voted in its
favor. These outcomes are directly due to the hard
work and efforts of NATO members who came to
Washington, connected with their representatives,
and made the case for the health and future of the
exhibition industry.
NATO’s advocacy at the federal level would
not be as successful without the dedication of the
members who understand the importance of communicating
with their elected officials and who
volunteer their time to come to Washington and
lobby in person. In the 115th Congress, we have
already seen the positive results of an active exhibition
community beyond the efforts of the fly-in.
In May of this year, exhibitors and other merchants
won a significant legislative victory in the
area of debit card swipe fees. H.R. 10, the Financial
CHOICE Act, contained a provision repealing the
Durbin Amendment, which brought relief to movie
theaters by requiring the Federal Reserve to limit
fees charged to retailers for debit card processing.
As a result, debit swipe fees were nearly halved to an
average between 24 and 27 cents per transaction,
saving millions and millions of dollars for exhibitors,
who are hit with swipe fees both at the box
office and at the concessions stand.
Thanks to a strong and coordinated grassroots
effort by movie theaters and other retailers, the
merchant community succeeded in striking the
damaging repeal language. Because of the firm and
unequivocal message sent to Congress by merchants
regarding this provision, House leadership
decided to remove this language before H.R. 10
came to the House floor for a vote. The Financial
CHOICE Act passed the House in June without
repealing the Durbin Amendment. This was a significant
legislative victory that will keep in place
low swipe fees and a competitive market.
This result was possible because of the NATO
member companies who responded to NATO’s
action alerts on this issue and wrote to their members
of Congress. Exhibitors reached over 310
House offices. That means that over 70 percent
of Congress heard about the impact that this
legislation would have on exhibition. Some exhibitors
even flew to Washington to hold meetings
with offices undecided on the issue. By caring, by
being active, by taking action, the movie theater
industry achieved what some considered to be an
impossible goal.
NATO strongly encourages all members to respond
to action alerts and to participate in future
fly-ins. Congress needs to hear from the business
leaders who are the backbone of their communities.
You have a right to petition the government—use
it to make a difference. n
18 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

CHARITY SPOTLIGHT
Compiled by Erica Lopez, Executive Director,
Variety – The Children’s Charity of the United States
VARIETY OF ILLINOIS
Siegel’s Cottonwood Farms worked with Variety of Illinois and
opened their gates to children with disabilities and their families,
at no cost to them, for four days this fall. The kids especially
loved the wheelchair-accessible hayride.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Variety of Illinois also teamed up with Project Mobility and
KEEN Chicago for an Adaptive Bike Test Drive on Chicago’s
lakefront. Adaptive-bike experts were on hand with an assortment
of options to match up kids with the right type of bike and
answer parents’ questions.
UPCOMING EVENT
VARIETY OF IOWA’S BLACK TIE GALA
January 19, 2018, at 6:00 p.m.
The Ron Pearson Center
5820 Westown Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50266
www.varietyiowa.com/calendar/events/event-62
Variety of Iowa’s Black Tie is a gala event celebrating the New
Year with a live auction, dinner, and speaker.
Jan. 29–1, 2018
UDITOA
Kissimmee, FL
April 23–26, 2018
CinemaCon 2018
Las Vegas, NV
May 14–16, 2018
North Central NATO
Minneapolis, MN
June 5–7, 2018
ShowCanada
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
June 11–14, 2018
CineEurope
Barcelona, Spain
Aug. 21–23, 2018
ShowSouth
Braselton, GA
Aug. 27–29, 2018
CineShow
TBD
Sept. 25–27, 2018
Geneva Convention
Lake Geneva, WI
Oct. 8–11, 2018
NATO Fall Summit
Beverly Hills, CA
Oct. 16–18, 2018
Rocky Mountain NATO
Albuquerque, NM
Oct. 22–25, 2018
ShowEast
Miami Beach, FL
Dec. 11–13, 2018
CineAsia
Hong Kong
20 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

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INDIE FOCUS
b r o u g h t t o y o u b y
THE STATE THEATRE
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN
Contributor: Russ Collins, Executive Director
HISTORY
The State Theatre in Ann Arbor
started out as a nearly 2,000-seat single-screen
theater. It opened as a cinema-style
theater in 1942. It operated
as a single-screen theater until 1978.
In the late 1980s its main floor was
developed into an Urban Outfitters
store, and the two remaining theaters
in the balcony continued to be
operated as movie theaters. In 2014,
the former balcony and the lovely
Art Deco mezzanine lounge was
purchased by the Michigan Theater
Foundation (MTF), a nonprofit that
had previously acquired and fully restored
the Michigan Theater, a 1920s
movie palace. MTF, in a historically
sensitive way, has now renovated the
former balcony of the State Theatre
into a four-screen specialty cinema
seating 135, 100, 80, and 50. The
State Theatre was originally designed
by C. Howard Crane. Crane, a widely
known and well-regarded Detroitand
London-based architect, designed
all types of buildings––from the late,
great Earl’s Court Convention Centre
in London and Olympia Stadium in
Detroit to Columbus, Ohio’s acclaimed
Art Deco skyscraper LeVeque
Tower. He specialized in a variety of
theaters, from Broadway theaters to
24 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

INDIE FOCUS
engagement. This movement is growing
and, despite news stories to the contrary,
it is a time of growth and opportunities
for art house cinemas in local communities.
The State and Michigan theaters are
evidence of this growth and potential.
The State and Michigan theaters are
key cultural assets of the Ann Arbor–area
community, generating more than $12
million in economic impact. They are central
to the cultural life of the community
and are supported with philanthropic (and
box office) dollars much like other arts and
community organizations. Cinema is a vitally
important art form that this community
respects and supports admirably.
Los Angeles movie palaces. In all, Crane
designed 300 theaters around the world,
including over 60 in the Detroit area—
impressive landmarks like Detroit’s Fox
Theatre, Fillmore, Orchestra Hall, and
Opera House.
Ann Arbor’s renovated State Theatre is
scheduled to reopen to the public on December
8. It was constructed on a design/
build contract with O’Neal Construction.
The restoration architecture firm
was Quinn Evans. Project consultants
included Paul Richardson, Gary Meyer—
both founders of Landmark Theatres, the
renowned art house chain—and Chapin
Cutler of Boston Light & Sound. The
project was paid for by an $8.5 million
community fund-raising campaign,
which will be successfully concluded by
August 2018. The fund-raising campaign
includes capital improvement work at the
Michigan Theater. The Michigan Theater
has a 1,700-seat performing arts center
that will have an archive-quality cinema
projection booth capable of various
digital cinema formats and almost any
type of film gauge or format. Additionally,
the Michigan Theater has a 200-seat
screening room, with excellent digital and
filmstrip projectors. Another 68-seat digital
cinema, called the Annex Theater, was
opened last year as a temporary screen
after the State Theatre was closed for
renovation. In all, the State and Michigan
theaters have six screens and one cinema-capable
performing arts center.
COMMUNITY
Ann Arbor is a college town with a
regional population of about 350,000,
immediately adjacent to the five million–plus
people who live in the Detroit
metropolitan area. The State and Michigan
benefit from an interested art house
audience. It is a highly educated audience
passionate about cinema. Like most
cinemas, the State and Michigan’s audience
skews older, but being in a college
town, there continues to be patronage
of cinephile students and young people
looking for a fun and unique night out.
The State Theatre has a full liquor license
for people looking for a more social and
extended night-out experience. As with
any business dynamic, there is much to
do to continue to grow and remain vital
to customers in the region. There is cause
for optimism with the opening of the
State Theatre and the growing vitality
of community-based mission-driven art
houses throughout North America, in
towns large and small. Through the Art
House Convergence there is a growing
legion of art houses that learn from each
other, share programming and marketing
ideas, and find success with community
PROGRAMMING
The State Theatre was closed most of
last year. When it reopens, we expect it
will take in 90,000 to 120,000 cinema
admissions annually. The Michigan Theater
typically does about 120,000 annual
cinema admissions and an additional
100,000 admissions for performing arts
events—including internationally known
rock, jazz, and blues artists, world-class
classical music performances, ethnic
dance and ballet, an acclaimed visual
artist lecture series, college graduations,
student performances, and many other
kinds of special events. Cinema highlights
from the Michigan’s theaters last year
included La La Land, which had an Ann
Arbor connection—Benj Pasek and Justin
Paul, who received an Oscar for their
song “City of Stars” from La La Land,
trained at the University of Michigan’s
renowned musical theater program; our
annual Direct from Sundance screening
of Woody Harrelson in Wilson; the annual
special screening of White Christmas
that fills the historic Michigan Theater
with holiday revelers who sing Christmas
carols and afterward enjoy the film as
numerous continuity errors are pointed
out during the screening. The recent
enthusiastic response to Loving Vincent
and Lady Bird, hopes are, will foreshadow
an excellent lineup of award-season films
in the months to come.
26 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

The MTF produces a growing film
festival in the Detroit area called the
Cinetopia International Film Festival.
This year 30,000 people came to Cinetopia
Festival–related events. The festival
featured excerpts from Ken Burns and
Lynn Novick’s The Vietnam War months
before its PBS premiere. Ken Burns is
an Ann Arbor native and returns to that
fair city regularly. Destined, a film shot
in Detroit, about the twin destinies of a
young man in Detroit, was written and
directed by another Ann Arbor native,
Qasim Basir. The Cinetopia Festival
also featured a well-received symposium
and exhibit on indie cinema legend Ira
Deutchman. The symposium and exhibit
will be repeated in New York City at a
yet-to-be-determined date.
CONCESSIONS
Popcorn and fountain drinks are the
most popular, along with cookies and
brownies from Ann Arbor’s own Zingerman’s.
Because alcohol is not served in
University of Michigan venues, the Ann
Arbor audience is not used to ordering
alcohol at concessions stands. As a result,
beer, wine, and mixed-drinks sales have
not been as robust as expected. We hope
this will change by expanding food service
items at the State Theatre.
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Russ Collins celebrated his 35th year
as executive director of the Michigan
Theater in 2017. He has overseen the
complete restoration of the Michigan
Theater, led the acquisition and renovation
design of the State Theatre,
been closely involved with the program
development at the State and Michigan
theaters, was the founder of the Cinetopia
Festival and, in participation with the
Sundance Institute and Sundance Film
Festival and dozens of passionate volunteers
from independent art house cinema
from around North America, he helped
found the Art House Convergence—
which is celebrating its 10th anniversary
with a record-breaking conference, January
15–18, 2018, just before the start of
the Sundance Film Festival.
The leadership team at the State and
Michigan theaters includes chief development
officer Lee Berry, who has led the
very successful fund-raising campaign to
renovate the State Theatre, the long-time
CFO Chris Tabaczka, who has kept the
organization on track as it continue to
grow, COO Steve Crowley, who supervised
the construction of the State Theatre
while overseeing the ongoing daily
operation of the Michigan Theater, and
Ariel Wan, marketing director, who has
happily rejoined the Michigan Theater
Foundation to oversee the expanded marketing
opportunities with the reopening
of the State Theatre. The MTF Board
is led by Hillary Murt, who has literally
volunteered thousands of hours of her
time during the renovation planning and
execution of the State Theatre.
SHOWMANSHIP
The architectural quality of the State
and Michigan theaters is a key part of
our showmanship. There is a vintage,
original-equipment Barton Theater Organ
in the 1,700-seat Michigan Theater
and a vintage Hammond B-3 organ in
our screening room. These organs are
played by talented professional organists
each day and clearly distinguish the
Michigan Theater from any other theater
in the region. The State and Michigan
have extensive partnerships with
University of Michigan departments and
programs. There are Korean, Japanese,
Chinese, Eastern European, and science
film series in association with aligned
university professors and programs.
More opportunities and programs are
created with libraries, museums, and
primary and secondary schools. The
potential is unlimited only as the time to
pursue possibilities is limited.
Social media is the new newspaper,
maybe the new radio and television, too,
of the 21st century. Facebook is a key
marketing tool and developing, improving,
and expanding effective social
media marketing is a, if not the, critical
dynamic of modern movie marketing.
CINEMA ADVERTISING
Pre-show advertising provides a
nice supplement to other sponsorship
dollars we solicit from local businesses.
The national ads and the local business
sponsorships can be blended nicely in
terms of creating “the show” and in
terms of providing essential revenue
for marketing outreach and creative
programming. Using Spotlight Cinema
Networks was an easy decision for the
State Theatre. n
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 27

SOCIAL MEDIA
>> 2017 is drawing to a close, and much of the story this year has
been its inability to keep pace with 2016, despite high hopes coming
off a record Q1. But hope does spring eternal, and 2018 is just
around the corner with a massive slate of releases and investment
by the studios. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the Twitter returns
for each wide release in the first half of next year and see who
the winners and losers are.
HIGHLY
ANTICIPATED
HOW THE FIRST HALF OF 2018 IS
SHAPING UP AT THE BOX OFFICE
by Alex Edghill
Deadpool 2 was the most talked-about
title among next semester’s releases, garnering
584,920 tweets over the past two
months. This was hardly a surprise given
just how much of a game-changer the
first film was for social media marketing
in general. It also had the largest single
day of the films we tracked, generating
187,941 tweets. Given the success of the
first film, and how much Deadpool has infiltrated
pop culture since its release, there
is little doubt about the sequel’s chances
at the box office.
Black Panther ranks second on our list
with 478,878 tweets. This was less of a
given than Deadpool, considering it’s the
debut entry for the title character, whom
audiences have only seen in a supporting
role in Captain America: Civil War. Black
Panther is not as recognizable to casual
fans, a challenge compounded by the
film’s Q1 2018 release—the first time a
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) title
is released so early in the year. Disney,
however, has had a very successful knack
for spinning off and creating separate
franchises for its Marvel characters,
namely Ant-Man and Doctor Strange.
MOVIES OPENING IN
FIRST HALF OF 2018
TWEETS FROM
SEP 19 TO NOV 18
TOTAL TWEETS / HIGHEST DAY
DEADPOOL 2
JUNE 1, 2018
584,920 / 187,941
BLACK PANTHER
FEB. 16, 2018
478,878 / 128,508
GOD’S NOT DEAD 3
MARCH 30, 2018
274,808 / 59,309
FIFTY SHADES FREED
FEB. 9, 2018
191,776 / 24,596
28 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

These early returns are very promising
and a strong indication that the MCU
winning streak will continue.
Another MCU title, Avengers: Infinity
War, occupies the third spot on our list.
Though the second film in the Avengers
franchise opened below the first, it has
added many new faces this time around,
including the hugely successful Guardians
of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange,
Ant-Man, and Black Panther. The film
raked in 345,963 tweets over the last
two months despite not having a trailer
online. Six months from release and no
trailer, and it still was the third most
talked about film—evidence of the high
anticipation for this movie. If it opens
above $190 million it will be the only
franchise to date to have three films
open over that mark.
In fourth place, we have the first
non–comic book adaptation on our list:
Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles 2, with
316,967 tweets. The Incredibles is one of
the most beloved and successful Pixar
films of all time, and the early online buzz
shows it has a large adult fan base—in
addition to family audiences—eager for
its sequel. This recipe was very successful
for Toy Story and Monster’s Inc. sequels.
Early signs point to a lucrative run at the
box office.
Lastly, Early Man was the second
animated film in the top five and the first
original film of the lot, coming in with
300,346 tweets. The trailer drew a lot
of attention to the project, putting it on
people’s radars and allowing it to emerge
as an early contender as one of the most
profitable films of the first half of 2018.
This could be one of the strongest releases
in the history of Aardman Animations.
A number of high-profile films didn’t
make our top 10, though each had specific
factors for its lag in social media buzz.
Solo: A Star Wars Story has not been
marketed much by Disney at this point,
as the studio focuses its strengths on the
December debut of Star Wars: The Last
Jedi. Don’t be surprised to see the Solo
trailer either attached to The Last Jedi or
released in the weeks following opening
weekend. Online buzz should pick up
notably soon thereafter.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is likely
to follow a similar online footprint, as
we’re expecting a trailer release over the
holiday corridor. Marketing has been
sparse to date, and with little to see, fans
simply haven’t had much to sink their
teeth into. Given the strength of the
rebooted franchise’s last outing, social
media buzz is imminent as the franchise
attempts to claim the largest opening-weekend
record for a fourth time in
its storied history.
The New Mutants is part of Fox’s
new direction of the X-Men franchise,
another beloved comic book adaptation.
Its trailer dropped within our two
month window of interest and generated
50,000 tweets. Fox has done a great job
with online marketing for the Deadpool
and X-Men films in the past, and New
Mutants represents a sort of departure
for the series—aiming for a young-adult,
edgy, and scary vibe.
Overall, there seems to be a lot to be
excited about in the first half of 2018.
Studios have heeded the call when it
comes to scheduling and utilizing more of
the calendar year; in years gone by, blockbusters
were almost always released in the
summer. 2018 will continue the trend of
larger blockbusters opening outside of the
summer months; both halves of the year
feature notable releases.n
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
MAY 4, 2018
345,963 / 42,128
THE INCREDIBLES 2
JUNE 15, 2018
316,967 / 144,925
EARLY MAN
FEB. 16, 2018
300,346 / 111,823
PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING
MARCH 31, 2018
176,700 / 45,198
MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE
JAN. 26, 2018
174,937 / 27,392
TOMB RAIDER
MARCH 16, 2018
152,922 / 29,396
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 29

LEVERAGING INNOVATION
b r o u g h t t o y o u b y A t o m T i c k e t s
In this monthly column,
Atom Tickets will feature
conversations with
studios and exhibitors
about their different
innovative approaches
to marketing movies
and the moviegoing
experience. This month,
Kelly O’Connor, SVP of
Exhibitor & Marketing
Services at Warner Bros.,
shares insights on how
new social networks and
consumer tech platforms
have influenced studio
outreach to consumers.
Interview by Ameesh Paleja,
CEO, Atom Tickets, and
Matthew Bakal, Chairman,
Atom Tickets
What are some of the best practices used by WB
in alerting moviegoers to new content and onsale
dates?
We utilize a comprehensive strategy to hit
all audiences through publicity, digital marketing,
and the all-important exhibitor marketing
channel. This is especially effective when our film
talent pushes through their social and on-network
morning-show and late-night appearances.
Social, mobile, publicity, exhibitor marketing,
in-theater, and online ticketing—we coordinate
them all. Our goal is to make some noise and
create a moment, a sense of urgency, something
that can’t be missed.
You and the WB team regularly bring incredible
films to the big screen. When it comes to films
like Justice League and Father Figures, what is
WB doing differently to drive box office sales?
We continually strive to find innovative ways to
resonate with moviegoers. It is especially important
to give fans something to identify with: shareables,
new content, exclusive art, collectibles, Snapchat filters—something
fun and unique to excite fans and
use their social power to engage others. Moviegoing
is all about the shared experience, the collective
soul of that experience with others. We look
to drive box office both today and for the
future by encouraging moviegoing behavior
and reaching millennials in ways that
feel bespoke to them.
Can you tell us about a marketing
campaign you recently saw that you
thought was remarkable?
It was an incredible example
of a campaign that
broke out and became
part of the zeitgeist—
from the online trailer
debut that broke all
records, to the incredible
suite of fan art, to
unique experiences like the Neibolt House built
in Hollywood and the IT VR Bus Tour. The red
balloon, Georgie rain slickers, and, of course,
Pennywise provided such rich, iconic elements
to work with. It was truly a career highlight to
be part of this and see these marketing pieces
embraced by consumers and exhibitors alike.
With this incredible and unique campaign we
made history, transcended the core horror genre
to reach a much broader audience, and redefined
the September potential.
From a marketing perspective, do you greenlight
ideas that are scalable across all exhibitors or do
you implement different campaigns with each
one? Why?
We do both. Scalable ideas are crucial to the
success of a film, but certain films require a certain
finesse. Our partners in exhibition and equipment
vendors (such as IMAX, Dolby, and RealD) are all
looking to differentiate their brands and create an
optimal moviegoing experience for consumers. We
work with them on unique programs and lean into
their valuable assets like loyalty programs and their
social footprints.
Every year there seems to be a new
marketing channel that everyone
gravitates toward using. Which are
the current platforms that are most
exciting to you?
In this ever-evolving world of
technology, there are incredible
ways to reach moviegoers, especially
millennials. AR, VR, Instagram,
Snapchat, push notifications,
YouTube, 1-click
ticketing opportunities—
all fabulous platforms we
are taking advantage of to
push content and most
importantly drive to that
end game: ticket sales. n
30 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

CATCH THE WAVE
OF IMMERSIVE
ENTERTAINMENT
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entertainment experiences since 2009. In
fact, are a proven source of recurring revenue
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Photo : Bénédicte Brocard

SEATING
THE PREMIUM EXPERIENCE
HOW INVESTMENT IN PREMIUM SEATING CAN IMPACT
EXHIBITION IN 2018 AND BEYOND
by Daniel Loria
premium seating continues to be a boon for the exhibition sector, with circuits
of every size investing the required capital to renovate existing theaters and incorporate
the concept in new-build designs. Consumers have taken note of the change—premium
seating is now a familiar new feature that has raised the comfort standard for moviegoers
across the country.
Coming off a slew of several high-profile acquisitions, AMC has prioritized reseating across its
newly expanded circuit. A high number of previous Carmike locations are targets for renovations
in the U.S. In Europe, the company expects seven Odeon locations to have completed
renovations that accommodate recliner seating. According to statements from AMC CEO Adam
Aron in a recent investor call, the company plans to have at least 25 Odeon locations equipped
with recliners by year-end 2018, including its flagship Odeon Leicester Square location. Aron
compared current reseating results at Odeon to those experienced by the U.S. circuit at the
turn of the decade.
Regal, the country’s second largest circuit, currently operates more than 18,000 screens with
luxury recliners across 151 locations nationwide. The company expects 30 percent of the circuit
to feature premium seating by early 2018, with the potential of an additional 10 to 15 percent
to come by 2019. According to a recent investor presentation, Regal screens featuring premium
seating generated $82 million in incremental revenue in 2016 versus the previous year, driving
an attendance growth of 12 percent. This in turn helped average ticket prices at converted
locations to increase by 7.3 percent.
During the company’s Q3 investor call, Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi called premium seating
“the top amenity” sought out by its customers. Cinemark has been busy adding recliners to
its circuit, which it brands as Luxury Loungers, completing renovations at 247 auditoriums
during the third quarter alone, raising its total count of premium seating–equipped theaters to
1,719—about 38 percent of its domestic circuit. Zoradi expects Cinemark to end the year with
recliner seating at more than 40 percent of Cinemark locations in the U.S.
No other major circuit in the United States is as advanced in its reseating process as Marcus
Theatres. As of Q3, Marcus features recliner seating at 66 percent of its first-run legacy locations.
The circuit’s acquisition of Wehrenberg Theaters in late 2016 brought an additional set of
marquee locations to renovate, a process already under way, with several sites already furnished
with the company’s DreamLounger recliners.
With the landscape firmly set for future investment, Boxoffice spoke with several of the top
premium-seating providers to get a better sense of where they think the industry is headed.
|—continued on page 34—|
32 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

PHOTO COURTESY OF VIP CINEMA SEATING
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 33

SEATING
PREMIUM SEATING ROUNDTABLE
WHERE ARE WE IN THE PROLIFERATION OF PREMIUM
SEATING IN NORTH AMERICA? WHAT SIZE CIRCUITS DO YOU
CURRENTLY SEE ADOPTING THE CONCEPT?
Mobilario
This is a concept that started at home and was brought to the
cinema industry with great success. It’s a re-creation of that home
environment—great food and comfort—that allows people to
feel at home. Almost all of the circuits available, from the largest
cinema chains to the smallest independent theaters, are giving
patrons a more luxurious and comfortable experience. Moviegoing
is a chance to enjoy a moment outside the home, and
luxury recliners can be enjoyed by people of almost all ages; just
by pushing a button, they will be immersed in a very relaxing
environment. This is mainly the reason why seating companies,
together with movie theater owners, look to develop new designs,
new features, new accessories, and a great spirit of service.
Seating Concepts
We’re still in an upswing regarding the switch to premium
seating. There are many theaters yet that can improve their bottom
line greatly should they convert, but the required investment
can be intimidating for many. While premium seating has been
completely adopted by large chains, medium-size circuits have
slowly embraced it as well. In general, converting to premium
seating elevates the customer experience, an element that is key
these days to staying relevant in order to compete.
Telescopic Seating Systems
We are providing premium seating in all market segments
but are finding that the definition of premium seating can vary
greatly based on the location and market segment. We find that
in large markets, recliners with Clean Sweep and Smart Power
Systems are enjoying unprecedented growth and penetration. In
small markets, TSS Premium Rockers have enjoyed tremendous
growth. Both types of TSS chairs are premium seating for their
markets. The common point in all markets that has aided our
growth is customer focus on quality chairs. Customers who have
spent heavily on other capital improvements have learned the
importance of long-lasting quality products.
VIP Cinema Seating
Being the pioneer of the VIP luxury-seating concept, we are
excited that it is being adopted worldwide—from large circuits to
small exhibitors with only one location. What seems clear to us is
that the conversion to recliner seating has been successful in large
metropolitan areas as well as small towns. It is a proven statistic
that a theater owner’s investment into a luxury recliner-seating
conversion sees a rapid and significant return.
HOW HAVE OTHER INNOVATIONS, SUCH AS LUXURY
CINEMAS AND DINE-IN THEATERS, IMPACTED THE PREMIUM-
SEATING BUSINESS?
Mobilario
They have impacted very positively, basically due to the interest
shown by patrons. This interest was awakened thanks to the
overall experience provided by theater owners, who were really
into creating more comfortable spaces that moviegoers felt like
returning to again and again to enjoy luxury seating with features
like call buttons, lamps, cup holders that keep drinks cool or
warm, service tables, and love seats arms. Moviegoers weren’t
the only ones to benefit from this; theater owners have as well
because seats have different traits that save them time and money.
These can include automatic reclining and closing of the seats,
sensors showing when seats are occupied or free, lifting seats,
easy replaceable parts, slope floor installations in order to avoid
major remodels, and easy access to seat mechanisms whether for
maintenance or for cleaning. Premium seating also helps grow
new opportunities, such as bars, restaurants, and more sophisticated
concessions products.
Seating Concepts
The advent of luxury/dine-in cinemas would not be the same
without luxury seating. Luxury seating is a critical component
of the elevated experience that complements the luxury, dine-in
experience.
Telescopic Seating Systems
We’ve found that luxury and dine-in-cinemas have had a positive
impact on our seating business. Customers who are installing
these amenities are looking for ways to maximize their capital
budgets so the construction savings from Smart Power Systems
become immediately apparent and needed. Likewise, the customers
with luxury cinemas and dine-in-cinemas are more focused
on immaculate cinemas and understand the higher cleaning and
operational costs. They realize health inspectors visit restaurants
more frequently than historical “popcorn only” movie theaters,
and luxury cinema patrons demand a clean environment. Therefore
TSS’s Clean Sweep System, which makes recliner cleaning
dramatically easier and less expensive, becomes a required feature
to successfully compete.
VIP Cinema Seating
We have developed a range of custom options to suit the
unique design perimeters associated with specialty concepts
such as in-theater dining. Each exhibitor tends to have specific
requests, and we work closely with our customers on developing
innovative products to meet those needs. n
34 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

Converting to premium seating elevates the
customer experience, an element that is key these
days to staying relevant in order to compete.
PHOTO COURTESY OF VIP CINEMA SEATING
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 35

SEATING
THE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
A LOOK AT SOME OF TODAY’S LEADING IMMERSIVE SEATING PROVIDERS
4DX
>> 4DX got its start in 2009. It is the
first and leading 4D cinema technology,
with 50,000 seats and a footprint
spanning 50 countries and six continents.
Its award-winning parent company (CJ
4DPLEX) holds 67 global patents.
Every dedicated 4DX auditorium
includes motion chairs and multisensory
environmental effects such as wind, bubbles,
lightning, fog, water, rain, air, and
scents that work in sync with the action
on-screen. According to CEO Byung-
Hawn Choi, “4DX continues to grow in
popularity as it enables people to enjoy
theme park–like entertainment in their
neighborhoods at a reasonable price.”
Choi indicates that his organization’s
competitive landscape includes not only
other 4D cinema brands, but also all premium
cinema formats in which exhibitors
are considering investing as they seek new
ways to further increase revenues.
“This can include anything from recliners
and premium seating to PLF and
food and beverages. Our business goal
is to be the most powerful new driver of
audiences into theaters and increased revenues
for our partner exhibitors,” he says.
“4DX focuses on the creative aspect
behind each movie, while others focus
on the technical features, such as bigger
screens and sound. The expert team of
4DX producers and editors … ensure
that each effect is carefully selected to
maximize the audience’s enjoyment of and
immersion into the movie,” adds Choi.
This brand of immersion tends to
perform better in areas with a higher
concentration of younger, tech-savvy
populations, such as millennials and
others based in metropolitan areas. In
Japan, for example, 4DX has proactively
expanded to 53 locations since its first
by Robert Rinderman
4DX screen with Korona in 2014.
Before installing 4DX technology, Korona
was not a very well-known theater,
but after having it in one of its auditoriums,
awareness has increased, not to mention
sales, with more than a 90 percent
occupancy rate, according to Choi.
A significant portion of this year’s
corporate expansion has come in Western
Europe, including the first 4DX locations
in France, Norway, and Austria. The
success has enticed neighboring countries
such as the Netherlands, Switzerland,
Belgium, and those in Scandinavia, to
also approve installations.
Domestically, two new locations were
recently opened in the Los Angeles market.
4DX debuted in Orlando, San Diego,
and Seattle over the past six months.
The company has also announced plans
to add more than a dozen new 4DX
screens in Regal theaters.
Choi expects exponential growth in
Canada based on its recent success north
of the border. He is bullish on the opportunities
in Latin America, led by the vast
Brazilian market. On the other side of the
Atlantic, CJ 4DPLEX is in talks with additional
European exhibitors for further
expansion in that region.
Looking ahead, Choi expects increasing
convergence with other innovative
premium cinema technologies. 4DX
will expand to include virtual reality
with 4DX VR. The company has also
introduced ScreenX, the world’s first
multiprojection cinematic platform with
a 270-degree viewing experience.
D-BOX
TECHNOLOGIES
>> D-BOX was an early leader in
premium, immersive seating experiences
(typically 20–45 per auditorium,
commanding an average $8 per ticket upcharge).
Its installed base is approximately
650 screens throughout 37 countries.
This footprint includes roughly half of
fellow Canadian colleague Cineplex’s PLF
auditoriums.
“D-BOX connects the body and
the imagination for a highly believable
experience through motion,” says Michel
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SEATING
Paquette, VP of marketing. “Our motion
technology, as well as related encoding
skill sets, is designed to be in perfect
harmony with the audio and on-screen
action of the movies. It is less intrusive
and can be very subtle yet powerful. We
add movement only when necessary.
“In contrast to 4D, whose roots are in
the theme parks, we create another level
of true immersive experience through arts
and technology. We get good feedback
from our patrons and believe 80 percent
are repeat customers, creating a universe
of brand ambassadors and loyal influencers
of the D-BOX brand,” says Paquette.
“We continue to adapt to the recliner
wave—80 of our current locations include
luxury recliners—and together with
D-BOX this becomes a premium on top
of another premium for the moviegoer.”
For exhibitors, numerous financial
partnering models are available, with all
including some type of revenue-share
portion. Theater owners choose the
number of seats desired, and modularity
and flexibility are key components of the
D-BOX business model.
According to Paquette, “Cap-ex is on
everyone’s mind when it comes to making
wise investment choices. What if you
could get an offering that is tremendously
reliable, needs very limited maintenance,
has great end-user endorsement, will
not hamper any of your video or audio
investment, and will live through time
with a vision? This is what the D-BOX
immersive solution is all about.”
Paquette remains optimistic about
the future and believes there’s a definite
potential to merge the best of the best in
immersive solutions—Dolby, IMAX, and
Barco, for example. D-BOX also foresees
offering VR, AR, gaming, and alternate
content for the cinema market.
He points out that the exhibition
community is increasingly more likely
today to put premium immersive seating
such as D-BOX technology into local
markets. In the past they had typically
only targeted higher box office and trafficked
locations.
On a worldwide competitive landscape,
he says Europe, LatAm, and Asia provide
the most attractive international opportunities.
“There are 160,000 screens worldwide.
We still have plenty to conquer!”
THE GUITAMMER
COMPANY
>> Guitammer offers an affordable
immersive technology solution that is
being deployed worldwide in over 45,000
seats. It works for every budget, seat,
and auditorium configuration—from
luxury recliners to rockers, in reseatings
and retrofits. Perhaps most importantly,
Guitammer’s tactile format also works
with every movie, without the need for
additional encoding.
According to Guitammer President
Mark Luden, “We offer affordable per
seat pricing that proves a six- to eightmonth
ROI for exhibitors. Theater
owners, depending on geographic location,
either include ButtKicker-enabled
seating as part of their higher priced
PLF offerings, notably in the U.S., or
they charge a nominal per seat fee for
the extra experience, which has been
happening in China.”
Luden adds, “We believe Guitammer
has the most auditoriums and seats
deployed of any comparable or similar
technology, and that we offer the most
comprehensive solution in terms of
affordability, suitability, audience acceptance,
and exhibitor satisfaction. Our
differentiation is that we do not require
a special seat to be purchased, since our
solution can be installed on the seating
choice of the exhibitor.
“The end-user experience is musical
and accurate due to a silent subwoofer
that exactly follows the film’s low frequency,
and our system typically requires no
maintenance at all, reducing the total cost
of ownership and enhancing the aforementioned
ROI.”
Domestically, Guitammer is currently
working with the three largest exhibitors,
AMC, Regal, and Cinemark. In terms
of future opportunities, Luden says he
anticipates continued growth in Asia, plus
the Gulf States and Europe.
In his view, larger exhibitors will
continue deploying immersive seating
as part of their PLF strategies, but he
questions whether regional players will
be able to spend the necessary capital
to compete on this front. “Smaller
exhibitors will begin to deploy Guitammer’s
ButtKicker solution in their PLF
38 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

auditoriums because of its reasonable
price point,” he says.
“For continued large-scale industry
deployment and an attractive ROI, we
believe there should be no more than a $2
extra per seat charge—either separately or
as part of an overall PLF premium. There
is obviously pressure across exhibition
coming from cap-ex requirements and
competing streaming content alternatives.
We think exhibitors can and should
utilize our seats for eSports, live sports,
and other premium experiences that command
a premium price,” he concludes.
LUMMA
>> Lumma’s 4D E-Motion is a theater
system equipped with motion seats and
synchronized special effects including
wind, water, bass shakers, vibration,
smell, air shots, vibrations, and lights.
Lumma offers a comprehensive service
for its 4D theater implementations, including
a feasibility study, conventional theater
adaptation, development, production, and
installation, plus support and maintenance
worldwide. Its synchronization department
is based in Los Angeles, working closely
with the Hollywood studios.
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 39

SEATING
“We are obsessed with the details
when we synchronize the movie, and we
are convinced that the right effect at the
perfect time makes the difference in setting
up a breathtaking experience,” says
Regional Director Marcos Franco.
Lumma’s team also collaborates with
exhibitors to identify the best customized
solution, whether it is a complete theater
implementation or a rev-share relationship.
According to Franco, “Our strategy
is to offer to the moviegoer the best experience
to make them feel it was money
well spent, and to offer to the exhibitors a
sound investment.”
In terms of its footprint, Lumma is
currently strong in Latin America, with
further expansion to Brazil and Paraguay
planned. Europe, China and India are
also on its radar.
So what does the future hold? “We are
convinced that 4D is a format that will
stay in the long term. It is an auspicious
moment for investment in this format.
There is actually a huge audience following,
and we are certain that this trend will
continue in coming years,” says Franco.
“We are constantly working on new
technological developments to be at the
forefront and provide our clients the best
4D system in the market. Lumma also
designs experiences out of the cinema
industry with E-Motion technology. We
have the know-how and expertise in theme
parks and museum attractions,” he adds.
As an example, the company recently
implemented its technology at the Planetarium
Galileo Galilei in Buenos Aires,
Argentina. In this project it developed
E-Motion VR experiences, simulators,
and innovative interactive games.
MEDIAMATION
>> MediaMation’s MX4D system is a
pneumatic 3DOF (Degree of Freedom)
two-, three-, or four-seat bench. Seats
have pitch, roll, and heave, enabling
programmers to mimic rolling motion
and action sequences with amazing
accuracy. Effects include mist, scent, rain,
snow, and bubbles, and seats offer patrons
vibrations, pokes, and tickles as well as
motion.
MX4D will have a worldwide installed
base of 250-plus locations by year-end,
making it the second largest 4D manufacturer
behind 4DX. Partnering with
Luxion-Rio has greatly expanded MediaMation’s
global reach throughout the
cinema industry.
Key competitive differentiators include
its patented arm rest, which provides wind,
mist, air, and scent. This offers a consistent
customer experience and helps lower
installation costs since there are no railings
in front of seats or ceiling fans required.
Its pneumatic system provides significant
savings during installation, as there
is no high voltage in the theater. Cost
savings for their maintenance program,
which kicks in after the first-year warranty
period, are also advantageous.
The company offers a flexible business
model to exhibitors. Most opt to outright
purchase the 4D equipment and in-theater
effects, according to Heather Blair,
MediaMation’s head of cinema sales. Others
prefer a flexible rev-share arrangement.
MediaMation believes its best growth
opportunities are outside the U.S. because
there are more new-builds, and the
infrastructure costs associated with adding
a 4D screen are in line with installing
luxury seats. Cinema patrons are eager for
theme park experiences, which are typically
less prevalent in overseas markets.
International growth opportunities
include Russia, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria,
and LatAm. These markets are presently
underserved and open to the idea of adding
4D screen technology, says Blair.
MediaMation has also been achieving
positive momentum domestically, with
National Amusements and B&B. Other
cinemas are beginning to take note.
“We are opening our first hybrid
MX4D/eSports location at the world-famous
TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood,”
says Blair. “We believe adding
competitive gaming (eSports) tournaments
in the MX4D room is a fantastic
way to utilize the screen during slow and
off-peak times.”
The company has also been holding
discussions with studios, seeking joint
marketing efforts to help promote 4D
movies. According to Blair, “Currently
they are leaving it up to the cinemas at a
local level to advertise. We believe the studios
should and will begin to announce at
a global level which titles have been converted
to 4D, thus increasing consumer
awareness. Butts in seats are great … but
butts in seats with a premium up-charge
is even better!” n
40 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

LUXURY CINEMAS
LUXURY CINEMAS IN THE U.S. COME WITH AN INTERNATIONAL TWIST
by Daniel Loria
>> Among all the trends in exhibition today, the luxury cinema stands out as perhaps the most alluring for moviegoers.
While the surge of private-label premium large format (PLF) auditoriums has helped bring top-of-the-line amenities—
such as premium seating, alcohol service, expanded concessions, and the latest sound and image technology—
to audiences around the country, there remains a class of cinema that caters to an upscale demographic by definition.
In an interview with Boxoffice earlier this year, Kinepolis CEO Eddy Duquenne neatly summed up the nature of this
category. “In many theaters, the key differentiator is content, but each customer group has different expectations when
it comes to guest experience,” he said. “We have customers who are interested in champagne and oyster bars, [we have]
the so-called ‘popcorn lovers,’ and between those two there is a wide range of possible experiences we can offer.” There
has been a lot of activity in North America when it comes to the high end of that model, Duquenne’s “champagne and
oysters” crowd, and specialized circuits have emerged as exemplars of the ultra-upscale cinema experience.
|—continued on next page—|
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 41

LUXURY CINEMAS
>> iPic is perhaps the player that has
claimed this space most prominently.
Operating 121 screens across 16
locations in the U.S., including
10 that feature restaurants,
iPic has marketed itself as a
circuit offering a premier
experience for those who
don’t mind spending the
extra money on a ticket.
iPic has played an
important role in helping
the luxury cinema concept
take off in the United
States, and consumers
have taken note—there are
currently five more locations
under construction according
to the company, with even more
sites in earlier stages of development.
Two major global circuits are among the
company’s largest shareholders—U.S.-based
Regal Cinemas and Australia’s Village Roadshow—
and the recent announcement of its intention to file an initial
public offering drew additional interest from another influential
chain. PVR Limited, the largest circuit in India, entered
an agreement to acquire a minority stake in iPic shortly before
the Thanksgiving holiday. There is, to put it mildly, a wave of
momentum in the luxury cinema concept—and iPic’s
success with consumers has been a big part of
identifying this opportunity.
Other major global circuits have
paid attention and decided to use
the luxury cinema concept as
their market-entry strategy in
the United States. Mexico’s
Cinemex, one of the two
top players in its home
market and one of the
world’s largest circuits,
made headlines when its
first U.S. location opened
in Miami in April 2017.
The U.S. part of the circuit,
branded CMX for marketing
purposes, intends to offer
a best-in-class experience across
all its locations.
“The way we see it, people need
to be offered an experience in order
to put down their iPhones and leave the
iPic
CMX
house,” says CMX managing director Luis
Castelazo. “Our idea is to offer them
something that they aren’t able to
have at home—a full experience
with really nice recliners, great
food, great drinks, and great
service, somewhere you can
be pampered, basically a
one-stop shop; you can
come here and watch a
movie, have dinner, and
stay at our bar to enjoy
a drink while watching a
game. It’s a one-stop entertainment
destination.”
The CMX Brickell City
Centre location in Miami was
designed with that one-stop idea
in mind. The theater’s lobby looks
more like a high-end hotel than a
cinema, a full-service restaurant that has
proven popular with the area’s business-lunch
crowd, and an adjoining bar that hosts a DJ on Friday
and Saturday nights. In fact, the location’s bar has proven so
popular during sporting events that the cinema has decided to
spin it off as an independent sports bar connected to the cinema.
Its 10 screens all feature laser projection and premium seating
complete with complimentary blankets and service call buttons.
Each auditorium was designed to minimize the presence
of wait staff—there are no scuttling team
members balancing trays of food across
any given row.
For some moviegoers, however,
the idea of watching a film
while smelling someone else’s
food doesn’t translate to an
upscale experience. The
dine-in concept is therefore
by no means a must-have
amenity for luxury cinemas,
as evidenced by the
new Landmark Cinemas
locations in New York City
and Miami. While those
locations do offer expanded
food menus, their prime food
and beverage focus is on the
bar—beautifully designed, chic
cocktail lounges—in addition to
all the other comforts and amenities
audiences have come to expect.
42 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

The one-stop-destination concept has
gained significant traction in recent
years as exhibitors move beyond the
days of arcade games and assorted
vending. From bowling alleys
to bars and restaurants, these
concepts have been embraced
by the industry at large. It’s
at the heart of what South
Korea’s CJ CGV chain
calls the “Cultureplex”
philosophy, expanding the
role of the cinema into a
cultural center of every community.
It’s an application
that extends to multiplexes,
single-screen independent cinemas,
and everyone in between:
the cinema as a social hub.
Cineplex, Canada’s leading circuit,
has taken a similar approach. Apart from
offering its own brand of top-of-the-line VIP
cinemas, the circuit has expanded its scope in rolling
out its Rec Room concept, what they describe as “social playground”
event spaces that feature VR-equipped gaming centers,
restaurants, and private meeting spaces—not too dissimilar from
the business-casual luxuries found on the campuses of the world’s
top tech companies.
Like CMX, CJ CGV ranks as one of the world’s
leading cinema circuits. The South Korean
company opened its flagship U.S. location
in Buena Park, California, earlier
this year under its “Cultureplex”
philosophy—bringing its
own brand of the luxury cinema
experience to a locale
with a big Asian and Asian
American population. The
formula has yielded strong
early results, and CJ CGV
is now planning its next
Cultureplex location in
New York City. Interestingly
enough, the company
announced that the
New York location, its first
on the East Coast and third so
far in the U.S., will be across the
bridge from the glittering lights of
Manhattan. The new 34,000-squarefoot
multiplex will be situated in a new
CJ CGV
LANDMARK
complex in downtown Flushing, in
Queens, one of the city’s most diverse
neighborhoods with a booming
Asian and Asian American population.
It will be the first new
cinema to open in Flushing
in 30 years, according to
the company.
The parallels between
CJ CGV and CMX—
two major global players
entering the U.S. market
with an upscale, one-stop
concept—are compelling,
mostly in that they both
opened their first flagship
locations in a familiar demographic.
“Miami is the Latin
American capital of the world.
It was a natural spot for us to enter
the United States; it’s a similar market
to the one we already know, so it was a small
transition,” says CMX’s Castelazo. “Now that we have
opened and successfully operated this location, we feel ready to
enter the rest of the country.”
CMX has stuck to its word. The chain has expanded rapidly in
the United States this year, acquiring four locations from luxury
cinema competitor Paragon Theatres and announcing its acquisition
of the Cobb Theatres circuit in October. The Cobb
acquisition launches CMX as one of the 10
biggest circuits in the United States—a feat
accomplished only six months after
opening its first U.S. location. And
CMX has plans in place for new
theaters in New Jersey, Illinois,
Chicago, and New York City.
When comparing their
new U.S. sites to Cinemex’s
existing VIP locations in
Mexico, Castelazo points
out that the circuit’s activities
north of the border
are part of an ambitious
plan for the company.
“This is even more VIP than
anything we have ever done
in Mexico,” he says, specifically
noting the marble bar at the Miami
cinema. “The idea is to continue
building these sorts of cinemas across
the United States.” n
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 43

COVER STORY
LARGER THAN
>> If there’s one thing La La Land proved, it’s
that there’s still an appetite for original movie
musicals. That’s good news for The Greatest
Showman director Michael Gracey, who makes his
feature directorial debut on the musical biopic,
which stars Hugh Jackman as legendary circus
impresario P.T. Barnum.
DIRECTOR
MICHAEL GRACEY BRINGS
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN
TO THE BIG SCREEN
by Chris Eggertsen
The splashy 20th Century Fox release has
something else in common with Damien
Chazelle’s film: It features songs by that movie’s Oscar-winning
lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. With
its all-star cast, which also includes Michelle Williams,
Zac Efron, and Spider-Man: Homecoming
breakout Zendaya—not to mention a script
co-written by Oscar winner Bill Condon—it
certainly doesn’t lack in pedigree.
In advance of The Greatest Showman’s December
launch, Boxoffice spoke with Gracey about his previous
work with Jackman, why he was so adamant
about creating original songs for the film, and why
he chose not to use real-life animals onscreen.
44 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

You previously directed Hugh Jackman in a
Lipton Iced Tea commercial that involved a lot
of complex choreography. Is that how you came
into this project?
Yes, that’s exactly right. I’d never met Hugh,
but the commercial was out of Paris, and it was
between myself and another French director. And
he was a bigger name director than me, and they
ended up going with me because they assumed,
because I was Australian, I knew Hugh. Which I
didn’t. But I didn’t correct them either.
And then the first day of rehearsal for the commercial,
Hugh came in and he was like, “Michael!”
And he was all smiles, and he was hugging me, and
as he hugged me he whispered in my ear, “They
think I know you mate, so just go along with it.”
And then at the end of that commercial, Hugh
suggested we do a film together. But I wasn’t that
excited because I’ve been shooting commercials for
like 15 years. And what I’ve learned is that whenever
you shoot with a celebrity, you know, a film
star, they always, in the euphoria of the wrap party,
say “Let’s make a movie together!” And early on in
my career, I would be excited about that. And then
you would never hear from them again.
So by the time I was working with Hugh and
he said it, I was like, “Yeah, yeah, sure.” But true to
his word, he sent me this script, and that was The
Greatest Showman.
I’d read that this was originally a
straight biopic, but that you really
pushed to make it a musical. Is that
correct, and, if so, why did you push
for that?
[Original screenwriter]
Jenny Bicks wrote [it as] a
musical, but it didn’t have
any songs, and my sort
of big thing with the
studio at the time was
to make it an original
musical. Because there
was obviously a lot of
success with films like
Moulin Rouge! which used
existing hit songs.
But I felt really strongly that
we should be making an original
musical. Because at the time—this is before
La La Land—it had been so long since someone
had made an original musical. So
I just felt it was really important
in a time where there are a
lot of remakes and a lot of
preexisting properties on
film, I felt that it would
be truly wonderful
to have something
original. So that was
something that I
really fought for.
Thank God for La
La Land, right? That
really changed the
perception of what
an original musical
could do.
Yeah, Damien [Chazelle]
is like my guardian
angel. Because that came
at a time—you know, we
had just finished filming and
La La Land came out and it just,
it was like a huge relief for a lot of
people that an original musical could find
an audience.
Also, the other advantage was that the songwriters
[Benj Pasek and Justin Paul], who had
been working on The Greatest Showman for
three years at that point, had got brought
in to work on the lyrics for La La Land.
So all of a sudden, they were behind
an incredibly successful original
musical. It couldn’t have come at
a better time for The Greatest
Showman, in terms of reintroducing
the world to an
original musical.
So when Benj and
Justin came on board
your film, what was
your mandate for them
as far as what kind of
songs you wanted?
Well, I was talking to lots
of songwriters at the time, and I
sort of gave everyone the same brief,
which was, “This whole film is a mix of
what I call the classical and now.” So the wardrobe,
CONNECTICUT -BORN P.T.
BARNUM DIDN’T GET INTO
THE CIRCUS BUSINESS UNTIL
HE WAS 60 WHEN HE LENT HIS
NAME AND EXPERTISE TO A
SHOW THAT WOULD BECOME
KNOWN AS BARNUM AND
BAILEY’S CIRCUS. THE RINGLING
BROTHERS PURCHASED THE
TRAVELING SHOW IN 1907,
ADDING THEIR NAMES. A FILM
BASED ON THE CIRCUS, 1952’S
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH
WON BEST PICTURE AT THE
1953 OSCARS. THE RINGLING
BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY
CIRCUS, AFTER 146 YEARS IN
OPERATION, CLOSED EARLIER
THIS YEAR.
LEFT: CO-STAR ZAC EFRON
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 45

COVER STORY
the choreography, everything’s got this
sort of fusion of elements of the old and
elements of the new coming together in
an original way.
And so for the songwriting, it was
really writing songs that served as narrative,
as you would in a classic musical
theater scenario, but it also had a pop element,
you know? And by pop element,
that sort of idea of it having a hook that
was catchy, but also you could record
and play it on the radio today.
When your attachment was first
announced, there was a lot of talk
that the focal point of the movie was
going to be P.T. Barnum’s relationship
with opera singer Jenny Lind, played
in the film by Rebecca Ferguson. But it
doesn’t feel like that’s much of a focal
point anymore. Was that relationship a
bigger element in the original script?
Yeah, I mean the story evolved. And
as time went on, it became more about
what Barnum unwittingly did in gathering
up all of these oddities and sort
of pulling them out of the shadows and
pushing them into the spotlight.
It’s not only that he turned them into
stars, but he made them feel love for the
first time in their lives. He made them
feel accepted, and actually celebrated for
being different. And I just think that’s
such a relevant and powerful message
today, to remind people that what makes
you different is what makes you special.
And so as the drafts went on, that
became a sort of shift in the focus.
How many years of his life are we
seeing reflected on the screen?
You’re looking at a 40-year span. But
we sort of took the tentpole moments
in Barnum’s life. You know, Barnum
rewrote his autobiography many times.
And he adjusted his life story. Which
I think is one of the most wonderful
things ever.
So the approach we took to the film
was, “If Barnum was making this film,
what would he do?” For a start, he’d get
Hugh Jackman to play him. You know,
he just—he never let the truth get in
the way of a good story. So we looked at
the sort of major milestones, if you will,
of P.T. Barnum. Being that it was P.T.
Barnum, it felt very in keeping with his
own life narrative that we embellish it.
Did you use any real-life circus
performers in the movie?
Yeah, there were definitely circus
performers in the film. And again,
talking with them and just hearing
about what the life is as a
circus performer.
You know, we decided
very early on that we
weren’t going to use any
circus animals. So all the
animals you see in the
circus are computer generated.
And I think that that’s
just a sign of the time we live in,
which is wonderful. I have a very
strong conviction that I didn’t want
to be standing on set having someone
directing an elephant or a tiger. To me,
that would feel inhumane.
So this is your first feature, and it’s
getting this big Christmas release and
has all these major stars in it. Has it felt
overwhelming for your first movie to
get such an enormous platform?
No. Because we all worked on this for
so many years, not knowing if it would
even get made. And again, all the people,
from the artists to Benj and Justin to
Hugh—all the people who rallied around
to create this film, and the studio, and
the producers—I think [for] everyone, it
became such a passion piece.
And in your heart of hearts, all you
hope is that it reaches an audience.
You’re telling a story that you hope
connects with people, and so the biggest
hope and the greatest dream you
can have is that after years and years
of work, it gets released, and it gets
released in a way that as many people as
possible can see it. n
FORMER DISNEY CHANNEL STAR AND SINGER ZENDAYA
PLAYS CIRCUS AERIALIST ANNE WHEELER. ZENDAYA
APPEARED IN THE SUMMER HIT SPIDER-MAN:
HOMECOMING.
46 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

And in your heart of hearts, all you hope is that it reaches an audience.
You’re telling a story that you hope connects with people, and so the
biggest hope and the greatest dream you can have is that after years and
years of work, it gets released, and it gets released in a way that as many
people as possible can see it.
MICHELLE WILLIAMS
PLAYS P.T. BARNUM SPOUSE
CHARITY BARNUM
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 47

FILMMAKER INTERVIEW
>> A former ballroom dancer and choreographer,
Trish Sie rose to prominence choreographing
and directing the 2006 viral
music video “Here It Goes Again” by
rock band OK Go, which featured
the four band members performing
an elaborate dance routine
on treadmills in a single take.
She later transitioned to film,
making her feature debut
directing 2014’s Step Up All In.
2012’s original Pitch Perfect,
a comedy starring Anna
Kendrick and Rebel Wilson as
singers in a college a cappella
group, was an unlikely sleeper
hit, earning $65 million off a $17
million budget. It also produced the
highest selling soundtrack of the year,
led by hit track “Cups (When I’m Gone),”
which reached #6 on the Billboard charts. But it
ENDING
ON A STRONG
NOTE
TRISH SIE
DIRECTS THE FINAL
INSTALLMENT OF
THE PITCH PERFECT
FRANCHISE
by Jesse Rifkin
was really the 2015 sequel that made the series a
bona fide phenomenon, earning $184 million
and becoming the highest grossing
live-action comedy of the entire year.
In this final chapter, Pitch Perfect
3, the Barden Bellas have mostly
graduated from college, and the
group has seemingly disbanded.
But after they largely fail to
launch during early forays into
“the real world,” they reunite
one last time for an overseas
USO tour, developing a fierce
rivalry with an all-female pop
group competitor.
Sie spoke with Boxoffice
ahead of the film’s release, discussing
the differences between her
former role as a dancer/choreographer
and her current role as a director, and why
she didn’t join an a cappella group in college.
48 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

Were you ever part of an a cappella
group yourself?
There was a really big, lively, deeply
intense a cappella scene at my college
[University of Pennsylvania]. I majored
in music, so while I was not an a cappella
singer myself, I had a lot of friends who
were in that scene. I went to a lot of the
shows. I kind of had a secret wish to be
one, but I was just never a good enough
singer. Also I was a dancer and in a dance
company, so I didn’t have the spare time.
But I probably would have dropped
everything to be in an a cappella group, if I
thought I could pull that off. The audition
process was actually pretty rugged, as I
recall. Even though it doesn’t really matter,
they act like it matters. It was cutthroat.
You spent a decade as a professional
dancer, ballroom competitor, and
choreographer before transitioning to
film. What are the biggest differences
between film and those professions?
And what might surprise people to learn
is the same?
There are way more similarities than
differences, frankly—which is probably the
case in any two creative fields. But there are
plenty of differences. The biggest difference
is that dance is so temporal. Yes, it gets
captured on film, or notated and put into
repertory. But really, dance is an art form in
that moment, in a certain space and time,
whether you’re performing it or watching
it. When it’s over, there’s no way to really
fully recapture it. Filming it isn’t the same.
Especially the kind of dance I did, which
was very much live performance-based
dancing. It really shocks when I look at
it on tape, how flat and slow and literally
two-dimensional it all seems.
My dance partners and I would tape
stuff in order to remember our choreography
or break down why we’d lost or won
in a competition, and I was always so
astounded by what worked or didn’t work
on camera. It taught me a lot about how
to shoot people [on camera]. And how to
create an illusion that might look and feel
very different than what it felt like in the
room, but is creating the feeling you want
people to have.
Where do the similarities come in?
There is a certain amount of naturalness
or genuineness in a person’s
performance, the environment, or in a
scene that you can’t fake. Learning how
to find that while you’re in the room
shooting, so it feels like a live dance
performance. You know, we are going
to have to edit it, use different takes,
cut this differently, use a wide shot to
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 49

FILMMAKER INTERVIEW
JOHN MICHAEL HIGGINS AND
ELIZABETH BANKS RETURN
FOR THE THIRD TIME AS
COMPETITION COMMENTATORS
JOHN SMITH AND GAIL
ABERNATHY-MCKADDEN-
FEINBERGER. BANKS DIRECTED
THE SECOND FILM IN THE
FRANCHISE.
establish the room. You have to think in all those
technical terms.
But at the end of the day, you want to do the
scene like a live dance performance. A real thing is
happening; it’s not all smoke and mirrors. You have
to create an environment where it isn’t just fake,
it isn’t just illusions. It’s actually a real thing on
some level that people are seeing and experiencing.
It’s a magical thing, trying to create the illusion so
people in their seats don’t feel like they’re looking
at pixels on a screen. They feel like they’re there.
The three Pitch Perfect films have had three
different directors. Jason Moore helmed the
first, Elizabeth Banks helmed the second. Did
either of them give you advice about directing
this movie?
Yeah, they were both really good allies for me
during this process. They were both very respectful:
“This is your movie. This isn’t mine. It’s a
franchise we all love and have worked hard on
this, but this is your movie, so go do your thing.”
They were very cool that way. They were also both
very much there for me if I had questions—and I
did. They both gave me a lot of good advice.
I think that Jason’s best advice was when
he said, “Don’t give away all your chips. Keep
your vision strong, keep your mind on the task
at hand. There are so many other brains in this
project. They’re going to give you so much good
fodder. Just stay the course. Don’t let anybody
take it from you.” He didn’t mean it in a negative
way. He just said it’s going to be hard to steer this
giant ship, so it’s really important that you keep
your head.
That was really good advice, because it is hard
to steer a giant ship like that. At the end of the day,
on a movie like this, the most important thing is
that it has a really strong perspective, viewpoint,
and voice. His words would ring in my ear when
it was like, Okay, what do I do? How do I tell this
wonderful person that I’m not going to take their
idea? When things like that would happen, I would
just remember his voice. It was really helpful.
Liz [Banks] was around a lot during the
development of the script. [Banks was originally
announced as the director in October 2015, but
exited on June 2016.] She was just really good
at reminding me to keep it simple. She’s a very
no-nonsense person.
You’re telling me the person who played Effie
Trinket in the The Hunger Games told you to
keep it simple?
Isn’t that amazing? [Laughs.] She could not be
more different than Effie in real life. She’s a very
down-to-earth and very no-nonsense person. She
thinks really fast, she can’t stand a bunch of gobbledygook.
So when things would get complicated,
she’s like, “Cut it out.” She’s great that way.
Who decides which songs are sung in the
film? How much of that is you, versus the
screenwriter, versus somebody else?
It’s very much a collaborative situation. We have
a really strong music department at Universal, and
they obviously have a lot of ideas and a lot of say
in it. The actors actually bring us a lot of musical
ideas, because they know their own voices really
well, what they’ll sound good singing, what they
connect to. The producers have ideas. The music
supervisors have ideas. The screenplay writers have
ideas. So there are a lot of different people.
It was my job to curate all the ideas and make
the short list. Sometimes my top choice wouldn’t
get chosen, because the studio for whatever reason
feels like that’s not the right choice. Sometimes
the rights aren’t available for the song you want.
So I couldn’t always get my first choice, but I
would listen to everybody’s ideas. We would have
a ton of meetings and listening parties, where
we’d sit around a table and just start playing
songs. “Listen to this from Howard Jones. Listen
to this new Sia song.” We would all just throw stuff
out from our Spotify playlists. It was a big brainstorming
session.
50 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

What’s your best Anna Kendrick story?
She’s pretty great. Pretty funny, very dry-witted,
very smart. One time we were out to dinner, it was
just me and Anna and the writer [Kay Cannon].
We went to this weird little vegan restaurant that
nobody had heard of in Atlanta, where we were
shooting. The waiter was super normal, we ordered
a bunch of food, it was really good.
But right at the end of the meal, he was like,
“This isn’t for me, but it’s my uncle’s restaurant
and he really wants a picture with you.” She’s like,
“Sure!” She’s so nice, she just dropped everything
to take a picture with the guy. Sure enough, the
uncle comes out. She just stood there for probably
like 10 minutes taking selfies with these two dudes.
I feel like [fans] in LA don’t do that because they’re
all so jaded and they know that you don’t do that,
but we were in Atlanta. I just thought it was super
sweet of her to do that.
Then we go out to our cars and the guy came
running out because I had left my Pitch Perfect 3
script on the table. Instead of selling it on eBay
with all my weird scribbled notes, he brought it
out to me. n
AT THE MOVIES WITH TRISH SIE
MOVIE MEMORY
When I was like seven, I went to see [1980’s] How To Beat the High Cost
of Living in a drive-in movie theater with my parents in rural western
Maryland. You know, there were very few drive-in movie theaters even
at that time. But we were in the middle of
truly nowheresville. I don’t think my parents
knew much about the movie. They just took
me because it seemed like a cool thing to
go to the drive-in.
What I remember is at the end, the women
get up onstage and rip their tops off. I just remember
as a pre-adolescent child, being so
TRISH SIE WITH ELIZABETH BANKS
incredibly pumped up. I was like, “Holy shit.
You can have women rip their tops off?” I just found it the most eye-opening
thing I had ever seen in my life.
CONCESSIONS STAND
I can’t think of the name. Not the Whoppers, it’s the caramel ones with chocolate
that are chewy ... Milk Duds!
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 51

COMING SOON IN 3D
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
DECEMBER 20 · SONY
CAST Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black
DIR Jake Kasdan
GENRE Act/Adv/Com
BLACK PANTHER
FEBRUARY 16 · DISNEY
CAST Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan
DIR Ryan Coogler
GENRE Act/Dra/SciFi
RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: WRECK-IT RALPH 2
MARCH 9 · DISNEY
VOICE CAST John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman
DIR Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
GENRE Ani/Adv/Com
A WRINKLE IN TIME
MARCH 9 · DISNEY
CAST Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey
DIR Ava DuVernay
GENRE Adv/Fam/Fan
TOMB RAIDER
MARCH 16 · SONY
CAST Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins
DIR Roar Uthaug
GENRE Act/Adv
RAMPAGE
APRIL 20 · WARNER BROS.
CAST Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris
DIR Brad Peyton
GENRE Act/Adv/SciFi
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
MAY 4 · DISNEY
CAST Robert Downey Jr. , Chris Hemsworth
DIR Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
GENRE Act/Adv/Fan
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3
MAY 18 · FOX
VOICE CAST Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler
DIR Dean DeBlois
GENRE Ani/Act/Adv
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY
MAY 25 · SONY
CAST Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke
DIR Ron Howard
GENRE Act/SciFi

ALSO UPCOMING IN 3D
THE INCREDIBLES 2
June 15, 2018 – Disney
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
July 6, 2018 – Disney
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3
June 13, 2018 – Sony/Columbia
MOWGLI:
TALES FROM THE JUNGLE BOOK
October 19, 2018 – Warner Bros.
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE
FOUR REALMS
November 2, 2018 – Disney
DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE
CHRISTMAS
November 9, 2018 – Universal
UNTITLED ANIMATED SPIDER-MAN
December 14, 2018 – Sony
AQUAMAN
December 21, 2018 – Disney
BUMBLEBEE: THE MOVIE
December 21, 2018 – Paramount
THE LEGO MOVIE SEQUEL
February 8, 2019 – Warner Bros.
CAPTAIN MARVEL
March 8, 2019 – Disney
DUMBO
March 29, 2019 – Disney
UNTITLED AVENGERS
May 3, 2019 – Disney
TOY STORY 4
June 21, 2019 – Disney
TRANSFORMERS 7
June 28, 2019 – Paramount
THE LION KING
July 19, 2019 – Disney
THE LION KING
July 19, 2019 – Disney
WONDER WOMAN 2
Nov. 1, 2019 – Warner Bros.
REALD.COM

ON SCREEN
SYNOPSES COURTESY OF QUICKLOOKFILMS.COM
HUGH JACKMAN WITH MICHELLE WILLIAMS (RIGHT)
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN
DEC 20 (WIDE)
>> The Greatest Showman is a bold and original musical that
celebrates the birth of show business and the sense of wonder
we feel when dreams come to life. Inspired by the ambition
and imagination of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman tells
the story of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a
mesmerizing spectacle that became a worldwide sensation
DISTRIBUTOR FOX CAST HUGH JACKMAN, ZENDAYA, REBECCA FERGUSON
DIRECTOR MICHAEL GRACEY WRITERS JENNY BICKS, BILL CONDON GENRE
BIOGRAPHY, DRAMA, MUSICAL RATING PG FOR THEMATIC ELEMENTS
INCLUDING A BRAWL RUNNING TIME TBD
54 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

ON SCREEN
MICHELLE WILLIAMS AND MARK WAHLBERG
OWEN WILSON, J.K. SIMMONS, AND ED HELMS
FATHER FIGURES
DEC 22 (WIDE)
>> Peter and Kyle Reynolds are two
brothers whose eccentric mother
raised them to believe their father had
died when they were young. When
they discover this to be a lie, they set
out to find their real father, learning
more about their mother than they
probably ever wanted to know.
DISTRIBUTOR WARNER BROS. CAST OWEN
WILSON, J.K. SIMMONS, CHRISTOPHER
WALKEN DIRECTOR LAWRENCE SHER
WRITER JUSTIN MALEN GENRE COMEDY
RATING R FOR LANGUAGE AND SEXUAL
REFERENCES THROUGHOUTT RUNNING
TIME 113 MIN.
ALL THE MONEY
IN THE WORLD
DEC 22 (LIMITED)
>> All the Money in the World follows the
kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and
the desperate attempt by his devoted mother,
Gail, to convince his billionaire grandfather to
pay the ransom. When Getty Sr. refuses, Gail
attempts to sway him as her son’s captors become
increasingly volatile and brutal. With her son’s life
in the balance, Gail and Getty’s advisor become
unlikely allies in the race against time that
ultimately reveals the true and lasting value of
love over money.
DISTRIBUTOR SONY/TRISTAR CAST MARK WAHLBERG,
MICHELLE WILLIAMS, CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER DIRECTOR
RIDLEY SCOTT WRITER DAVID SCARPA GENRE CRIME, DRA-
MA, MYSTERY RATING R FOR LANGUAGE, SOME VIOLENCE,
DISTURBING IMAGES, AND BRIEF DRUG CONTENT RUNNING
TIME TBD
56 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

ON SCREEN
HONG CHAU AND MATT DAMON
DOWNSIZING
DEC 20 (WIDE)
>> Downsizing imagines what might happen if, as a solution
to overpopulation, Norwegian scientists discover how to
shrink humans to five inches tall and propose a 200-year global
transition from big to small. People soon realize how much
further money goes in a miniaturized world, and, with the
promise of a better life, everyman Paul Safranek and his wife,
Audrey, decide to abandon their stressed lives in Omaha in
order to get small and move to a new downsized
community—a choice that triggers life-changing adventures.
DISTRIBUTOR PARAMOUNT CAST MATT DAMON, CHRISTOPH WALTZ,
HONG CHAU DIRECTOR ALEXANDER PAYNE WRITERS ALEXANDER PAYNE,
JIM TAYLOR GENRE COMEDY, DRAMA, SCI-FI RATING TBD RUNNING TIME
135 MIN.
HAPPY END
DEC 22 (LIMITED)
>> Members of a middle-class family
living in Calais deal with a series of
setbacks, but they pay little attention
to the grim conditions in the refugee
camps within a few miles of their
home.
ISABELLE HUPPERT (CENTER)
DISTRIBUTOR SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
CAST ISABELLE HUPPERT, JEAN-LOUIS TRIN-
TIGNANT, MATHIEU KASSOVITZ DIRECTOR
MICHAEL HANEKE WRITER MICHAEL HANEKE
GENRE DRAMA RATING R FOR SOME SEXUAL
MATERIAL AND LANGUAGE RUNNING TIME
107 MIN.
58 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

REBEL WILSON AND ANNA KENDRICK
PITCH PERFECT 3
DEC 20 (WIDE)
>> Now graduated from college and
out in the real world, where it takes more
than a cappella to get by, the Bellas
return in Pitch Perfect 3. After the highs
of winning the world championships,
the Bellas find themselves split apart
and without job prospects. But when
they get the chance to reunite for
an overseas USO tour, this group of
awesome nerds will come together
to make some music, and some
questionable decisions, one last time.
DISTRIBUTOR UNIVERSAL CAST RUBY ROSE,
ANNA KENDRICK, HAILEE STEINFELD DIRECTOR
TRISH SIE WRITER KAY CANNON GENRE COM-
EDY, MUSIC RATING PG-13 FOR CRUDE AND SEX-
UAL CONTENT, LANGUAGE, AND SOME ACTION
RUNNING TIME TBD
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 59

ON SCREEN
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
DEC 22 (WIDE)
>> In the brand-new adventure Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, four teenagers in detention
are sucked into the world of Jumanji. When they discover an old video game console with a
game they’ve never heard of, they are immediately thrust into the game’s jungle setting, into
the bodies of their avatars. What they discover is that you don’t just play Jumanji—Jumanji
plays you. They’ll have to go on the most dangerous adventure of their lives, or they’ll be
stuck in the game forever.
DISTRIBUTOR SONY/COLUMBIA CAST DWAYNE JOHNSON, KAREN GILLAN, KEVIN HART DIRECTOR JAKE
KASDAN WRITERS CHRIS MCKENNA, JEFF PINKNER, SCOTT ROSENBERG, ERIK SOMMERS GENRE ACTION,
ADVENTURE, COMEDY RATING PG-13 FOR ADVENTURE ACTION, SUGGESTIVE CONTENT, AND SOME
LANGUAGE RUNNING TIME TBD
PICTURED: KEVIN HART, DWAYNE JOHNSON, JACK BLACK, AND KAREN GILLAN
60 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

ON SCREEN
PHANTOM THREAD
DEC 25 (LIMITED)
>> Renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock and his sister
Cyril are at the center of British fashion in postwar London,
dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants,
and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock.
Women come and go in Woodcock’s life, providing the confirmed
bachelor with inspiration and companionship, until he meets a
young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who soon becomes his muse
and lover. Once fully in control, he finds his carefully tailored life
disrupted by love. With his latest film, Paul Thomas Anderson
paints an illuminating portrait both of an artist on a creative
journey and the women who keep his world running. Phantom
Thread is Paul Thomas Anderson’s eighth movie, and his second
collaboration with Daniel Day-Lewis.
DISTRIBUTOR FOCUS FEATURES CAST DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, VICKY KRIEPS,
LESLEY MANVILLE DIRECTOR PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON WRITER
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON GENRE DRAMA RATING R FOR LANGUAGE
RUNNING TIME 115 MIN.
PICTURED: DANIEL DAY-LEWIS AND VICKY KRIEPS
62 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

Happy Holidays
From Fox In-TheaTre markeTIng
Visit us at FoxInTheatre.com TM & © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. @foxintheatremarketing @foxintheatre @foxintheatre

ON SCREEN
ANNETTE BENING AND JAMIE BELL
FILM STARS DON’T
DIE IN LIVERPOOL
DEC 29 (LIMITED)
>> Based on actor Peter Turner’s memoir, the film follows the
playful but passionate relationship between Turner and the
eccentric Academy Award–winning actress Gloria Grahame
in 1978 Liverpool. What starts as a vibrant affair between a
legendary femme fatale and her young lover quickly grows into
a deeper relationship, with Turner being the person Gloria
turns to for comfort. Their passion and lust for life is tested to
the limits by events beyond their control.
DISTRIBUTOR SONY PICTURES CLASSICS CAST JAMIE BELL, ANNETTE BEN-
ING, VANESSA REDGRAVE DIRECTOR PAUL MCGUIGAN WRITER MATT GREEN-
HALGH GENRE BIOGRAPHY, DRAMA, ROMANCE RATING R FOR LANGUAGE,
SOME SEXUAL CONTENT, AND BRIEF NUDITY RUNNING TIME 105 MIN.
BLAME
JAN 5 (LIMITED)
>> Abigail is an outcast who seeks solace in the worlds of the characters she
reads about, much to the amusement of her manipulative classmate, Melissa.
When an intriguing new drama teacher casts Abigail over Melissa, Abigail’s
confidence blooms. Melissa begins to spiral out of control and concocts a
plot against Abigail. This triggers a chain of events that will come to affect
everyone around them, as well as reveal some dark truths.
DISTRIBUTOR ORION/SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS CAST NADIA ALEXANDER, CHRIS MESSINA,
TRIESTE KELLY DUNN DIRECTOR QUINN SHEPHARD WRITER QUINN SHEPHARD GENRE DRA-
MA RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 100 MIN.
INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY
JAN 5 (WIDE)
>> Dr. Elise Rainier, the brilliant
parapsychologist, faces her most fearsome and
personal haunting yet: in her own family home.
DISTRIBUTOR UNIVERSAL CAST KIRK ACEVEDO, LIN SHAYE,
JOSH STEWART DIRECTOR ADAM ROBITEL WRITER LEIGH
WHANNELL GENRE HORROR, MYSTERY, THRILLER RATING
PG-13 FOR DISTURBING THEMATIC CONTENT, VIOLENCE
AND TERROR, AND BRIEF STRONG LANGUAGE RUNNING
TIME TBD
64 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

ON SCREEN
JESSICA CHASTAIN AND IDRIS ELBA
MOLLY’S GAME
JAN 5 (WIDE)
>> Molly’s Game is the true story of Molly Bloom a beautiful,
young, Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive
high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in
the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic
weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars,
business titans, and, finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian
mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer, Charlie
Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the
tabloids led us to believe.
DISTRIBUTOR STX ENTERTAINMENT CAST JESSICA CHASTAIN, IDRIS ELBA,
KEVIN COSTNER DIRECTOR AARON SORKIN WRITER AARON SORKIN GENRE
BIOGRAPHY, DRAMA RATING R FOR LANGUAGE, DRUG CONTENT, AND SOME
VIOLENCE RUNNING TIME 140 MIN.
THE COMMUTER
JAN 12 (WIDE)
>> In this action-packed thriller, Liam Neeson plays an insurance salesman,
Michael, on his daily commute home, which quickly becomes anything but
routine. After being contacted by a mysterious stranger, Michael is forced to
uncover the identity of a hidden passenger on his train before the last stop.
As he works against the clock to solve the puzzle, he realizes a deadly plan
is unfolding and is unwittingly caught up in a criminal conspiracy—one that
carries life and death stakes, for himself and his fellow passengers.
VERA FARMIGA AND LIAM NEESON
DISTRIBUTOR LIONSGATE CAST LIAM NEESON, VERA FARMIGA, SAM NEILL DIRECTOR
JAUME COLLET-SERRA WRITERS BYRON WILLINGER, PHILIP DE BLASI GENRE CRIME, DRAMA,
MYSTERY RATING PG-13 FOR SOME INTENSE ACTION/VIOLENCE, AND LANGUAGE RUNNING
TIME 104 MIN.
66 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

ON SCREEN
PADDINGTON 2
JAN 12 (WIDE)
>> Paddington 2 finds Paddington
happily settled with the Brown
family in Windsor Gardens, where
he has become a popular member
of the community, spreading joy
and marmalade wherever he goes.
While searching for the perfect
present for his beloved Aunt Lucy’s
100th birthday, Paddington spots
a unique pop-up book in Mr. Gruber’s
antique shop and embarks
upon a series of odd jobs to buy it.
But when the book is stolen, it’s up
to Paddington and the Browns to
unmask the thief.
DISTRIBUTOR WARNER BROS. CAST
BEN WHISHAW, HUGH GRANT, HUGH
BONNEVILLE DIRECTOR PAUL KING
WRITERS SIMON FARNABY, PAUL KING
GENRE ANIMATION, ADVENTURE,
COMEDY RATING TBD RUNNING TIME
103 MIN.
CONDORITO: LA PELICULA
JAN 12 (LIMITED)
>> The famous avian character and his pals are animated
in CGI for the first time, including the love of his life, Yayita.
Condorito is ready to propose to Yayita and tie the feather … er,
knot, but when his disapproving mother-in-law, Tremebunda
(Coco Legrand), is abducted by an alien king, Condorito and
his nephew must embark on an out-of-this-world adventure to
save “La Suegra”—as well as planet Earth! Condorito: La Pelicula
is the perfect way for grown-up fans to share the laughter with
a new generation, one plop at a time!
DISTRIBUTOR PANTELION VOICE CAST OMAR CHAPARRO, JESSICA CEDIEL,
CRISTIÁN DE LA FUENTE DIRECTORS ALEX ORRELLE, EDUARDO SCHULDT
WRITERS RODRIGO MORAES, MARTÍN PIROYANSKY, ISHAI RAVID GENRE ANI-
MATION, ADVENTURE, COMEDY RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 88 MIN.
68 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

ON SCREEN
TOM HANKS AND CAST
THE POST
JAN 12 (WIDE)
>> Steven Spielberg directs Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in
The Post, a drama about the unlikely partnership between The
Washington Post’s Katharine Graham, the first female publisher
of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee, as
they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a
massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three
decades and four U.S. presidents. The two must overcome their
differences as they risk their careers—and their very freedom—
to help bring long-buried truths to light
DISTRIBUTOR FOX CAST MERYL STREEP, TOM HANKS, SARAH PAULSON
DIRECTOR STEVEN SPIELBERG WRITERS LIZ HANNAH, JOSH SINGER GENRE
BIOGRAPHY, DRAMA, HISTORY RATING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD
SATURDAY CHURCH
JAN 12 (LIMITED)
>> Saturday Church tells the story of 14-year-old Ulysses, a shy and effeminate boy,
who finds himself coping with new responsibilities as “man of the house” after the
death of his father. Living alongside his mother, younger brother, and conservative
aunt, Ulysses is also struggling with questions about his gender identity. He finds an
escape by creating a world of fantasy, filled with dance and music. Ulysses’ journey
takes a turn for the better when he encounters a vibrant transgender community, who
take him to “Saturday Church,” a program for LGBTQ youth. Ulysses manages to keep his
two worlds apart, appeasing his aunt and discovering his passion for the NYC ball scene
and voguing, until his double life is revealed. Ulysses must find the courage to be who
he truly is, all while risking losing those he cares about most.
DISTRIBUTOR ORION/SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS CAST MARGOT BINGHAM, REGINA TAYLOR, EVANDER
DUCK JR. DIRECTOR DAMON CARDASIS WRITER DAMON CARDASIS GENRE DRAMA, FANTASY, MUSICAL
RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 90 MIN.
PROUD MARY
JAN 12 (LIMITED)
>> Mary is a successful hit woman
working for an organized crime family
in Boston. But her life is completely
shifted when she meets a young
boy whose path she crosses when a
professional hit goes wrong and she
leaves the boy orphaned.
DISTRIBUTOR SONY/SCREEN GEMS CAST
TARAJI P. HENSON, NEAL MCDONOUGH, DAN-
NY GLOVER DIRECTOR BABAK NAJAFI WRIT-
ERS STEVE ANTIN, JOHN STUART NEWMAN,
CHRISTIAN SWEGAL GENRE ACTION, THRILLER
RATING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD
70 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

BOOKING GUIDE
TITLE RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE SPECS
A24 646-568-6015
THE DISASTER ARTIST Fri, 12/1/17 LTD. James Franco, Dave Franco James Franco R Com
THE BALLAD OF LEFTY BROWN Fri, 12/15/17 LTD. Bill Pullman, Peter Fonda Jared Moshe R Wes
UNTITLED A24 HORROR MOVIE 1 Fri, 3/16/18 WIDE NR Hor
LEAN ON PETE Fri, 3/30/18 LTD. Travis Fimmel, Steve Buscemi Andrew Haigh R Dra
UNTITLED A24 HORROR MOVIE 2 Fri, 4/27/18 WIDE NR Hor
ANNAPURNA PICTURES
DEATH WISH Fri, 3/2/18 WIDE Bruce Willis, Vincent D’Onofrio Eli Roth R Act
DISNEY 818-560-1000 Ask for Distribution
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
Fri, 12/15/17 WIDE
Daisy Ridley, John Boyega,
Oscar Isaac
Rian Johnson PG-13 Act/Adv/SF
3D/IMAX/
Dolby Dig
BLACK PANTHER Fri, 2/16/18 WIDE Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o Ryan Coogler NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/IMAX
A WRINKLE IN TIME Fri, 3/9/18 WIDE Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon Ava DuVernay PG Fan 3D/IMAX
DOLPHINS
Fri, 4/20/18 WIDE
Alastair Fothergill,
Keith Scholey
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Fri, 5/4/18 WIDE Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans Anthony Russo & Joe Russo NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/IMAX
G
Doc/Fam
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY Fri, 5/25/18 WIDE Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover Ron Howard NR Act/Adv/SF
3D/IMAX/
Dolby Dig
THE INCREDIBLES 2 Fri, 6/15/18 WIDE Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter Brad Bird NR Ani/Adv/Fam 3D/IMAX
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP Fri, 7/6/18 WIDE Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly Peyton Reed NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/IMAX
UNTITLED CHRISTOPHER ROBIN PROJECT Fri, 8/3/18 WIDE NR Fan
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS Fri, 11/2/18 WIDE Keira Knightley, Mackenzie Foy Lasse Hallström NR Mus/Fan 3D
MULAN Fri, 11/2/18 WIDE Niki Caro NR Act/Adv 3D/IMAX
RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET:
WRECK-IT RALPH 2
Fri, 11/21/18 WIDE John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman Phil Johnston, Rich Moore NR Ani/Adv/Fam 3D/IMAX
MARY POPPINS RETURNS Fri, 12/25/18 WIDE Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda Rob Marshall NR Fam/Fan
CAPTAIN MARVEL Fri, 3/8/19 WIDE Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/IMAX
DUMBO Fri, 3/29/19 WIDE Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton Tim Burton NR Fan/Fam 3D
UNTITLED DISNEYTOON STUDIOS FILM Fri, 4/12/19 WIDE NR Ani
UNTITLED AVENGERS Fri, 5/3/19 WIDE NR
Act/Adv/
Fan/SF
ALADDIN Fri, 5/24/19 WIDE Will Smith, Mena Massoud Guy Ritchie NR Act/Adv/Com
FOCUS FEATURES 424-214-6360
PHANTOM THREAD Mon, 12/25/17 LTD. Daniel Day-Lewis, Lesley Manville Paul Thomas Anderson R Dra
THOROUGHBREDS Fri, 3/9/18 LTD. Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy Cory Finley NR Com
UNTITLED ENTEBBE PROJECT Fri, 3/16/18 WIDE PG-13
TULLY Fri, 4/20/18 WIDE Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis Jason Reitman NR Com
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? Fri, 6/8/18 WIDE Fred Rogers Morgan Neville NR Doc
CAPTIVE STATE Wed, 8/17/18 WIDE John Goodman, Ashton Sanders Rupert Wyatt NR SF
THE LITTLE STRANGER Fri, 8/31/18 WIDE Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson Lenny Abrahamson NR Hor/Thr
72 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

TITLE RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE SPECS
BOY ERASED Fri, 9/28/18 LTD Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman Joel Edgerton NR Dra
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS Fri, 11/2/18 LTD Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie Josie Rourke NR Dra/His
FOX 310-369-1000 / 212-556-2400
FERDINAND Fri, 12/15/17 WIDE John Cena, Kate McKinnon Carlos Saldanha PG Ani/Fam 3D
THE POST Fri, 12/22/17 PLAT. Carrie Coon, Alision Brie Steven Spielberg PG-13 Dra
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN Wed, 12/20/17 WIDE Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron Michael Gracey PG Mus/Dra
MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE Fri, 1/26/18 WIDE Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario Wes Ball NR SF/Thr IMAX
RED SPARROW Fri, 3/2/18 WIDE Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton Francis Lawrence NR Thr
LOVE, SIMON Fri, 3/16/18 WIDE Nick Robinson, Katherine Langford Greg Berlanti NR Dra
THE NEW MUTANTS Fri, 4/13/18 WIDE Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams Josh Boone NR Act/Hor/SF
DEADPOOL 2 Fri, 6/1/18 WIDE Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin David Leitch NR Act/Adv/SF
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL Fri, 7/20/18 WIDE Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz Robert Rodriguez NR Act/Adv/Rom
THE PREDATOR Fri, 8/3/18 WIDE Boyd Holbrook, Jacob Tremblay Shane Black NR Act/SF/Hor
THE DARKEST MINDS Fri, 9/14/18 WIDE Amandla Stenberg, Mandy Moore Jennifer Yuh Nelson NR SF/Thr
THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING Fri, 9/28/18 WIDE Joe Cornish NR
Fan/Fam/Act/
Adv
BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE Fri, 10/5/18 WIDE Drew Goddard NR
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 73

BOOKING GUIDE
TITLE RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE SPECS
DARK PHOENIX Fri, 11/2/18 WIDE Sophie Turner, Jennifer Lawrence Simon Kinberg NR Act/Adv/SF
WIDOWS Fri, 11/16/18 WIDE Michelle Rodriguez, Viola Davis Steve McQueen NR Dra
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Fri, 12/25/18 WIDE Rami Malek, Ben Hardy Bryan Singer NR Bio/Mus
AD ASTRA Fri, 1/11/19 WIDE Brad Pitt James Gray NR SF/Thr
SPIES IN DISGUISE Fri, 1/18/19 WIDE Will Smith, Tom Holland Nick Bruno & Troy Quane NR Ani
GAMBIT Fri, 2/14/19 WIDE Channing Tatum Gore Verbinski NR Act/Adv/SF
THE FORCE Fri, 3/1/19 WIDE James Mangold NR Dra/Cri
UNTITLED FOX / MARVEL FILM Fri, 7/7/19 WIDE Act/Adv/SF
FOX SEARCHLIGHT 212-556-2400
THE SHAPE OF WATER Fri, 12/1/17 NY Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer Guillermo del Toro R Dra/Fan/Rom
ISLE OF DOGS Fri, 3/23/18 LTD. Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston Wes Anderson NR Ani/Adv/Com
SUPER TROOPERS 2 Fri, 4/20/18 WIDE Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan
LIONSGATE 310-309-8400
Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin
Heffernan
THE COMMUTER Fri, 1/12/18 WIDE Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga Jaume Collet-Serra PG-13 Act
CONDORITO: LA PELICULA Fri, 1/12/18 MOD. Omar Chaparro, Jessica Cediel
WINCHESTER:
THE HOUSE THAT GHOSTS BUILT
Alex Orrelle, Eduardo
Schuldt
Fri, 2/2/18 WIDE Helen Mirren, Sarah Snook The Spierig Brothers NR Hor
EARLY MAN Fri, 2/16/18 WIDE Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston Nick Park NR Ani/Adv/Com
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE Fri, 3/16/18 WIDE J. Michael Finley, Brody Rose Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin PG Dra/Fam
ACRIMONY Fri, 3/30/18 WIDE Taraji P. Henson, Lyriq Bent Tyler Perry NR Dra
OVERBOARD Fri, 4/20/18 WIDE Eugenio Derbez, Anna Faris Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg NR Rom/Com
TRAFFIK Fri, 4/27/18 WIDE Paula Patton, Omar Epps Deon Taylor NR Thr
UNCLE DREW Fri, 6/29/18 WIDE Kyrie Irving, Lil Rel Howery Charles Stone III NR Com
THE SPY WHO DUMPED ME Fri, 7/6/18 WIDE Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon Susanna Fogel NR Com/Act
TYLER PERRY’S A MADEA FAMILY FUNERAL Fri, 8/3/18 WIDE Tyler Perry, Cassi Davis Tyler Perry NR Dra
ROBIN HOOD Fri, 9/21/18 WIDE Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx Otto Bathurst NR Adv
HELLFEST Fri, 10/12/18 WIDE Gregory Plotkin NR Hor
FLARSKY Fri, 2/8/19 WIDE Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron Jonathan Levine NR Com
CHAOS WALKING Fri, 3/1/19 WIDE Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley Doug Liman NR Adv/SF
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER THREE Fri, 5/17/19 WIDE Keanu Reeves NR Act
OPEN ROAD FILMS 310-696-7504
SHOW DOGS Fri, 2/16/18 WIDE Will Arnett, Natasha Lyonne Raja Gosnell NR Com/Fam
MIDNIGHT SUN
Fri, 3/23/18 WIDE
Bella Thorne,
Patrick Schwarzenegger
R
NR
Com
Ani
Scott Speer PG-13 Dra/Rom
DUCK DUCK GOOSE Fri, 4/20/18 WIDE Jim Gaffigan, Zendaya Christopher Jenkins PG Ani/Com/Fam
PLAYMOBILE Fri, 1/18/19 WIDE NR Ani
PARAMOUNT 323-956-5000
DOWNSIZING Fri, 12/22/17 WIDE Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig Alexander Payne NR Com
74 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

TITLE RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE SPECS
2017 CLOVERFIELD MOVIE Fri, 2/2/18 WIDE NR SF/Thr IMAX
ANNIHILATION
Fri, 2/23/18 WIDE
Natalie Portman,
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Alex Garland NR SF/Act
ACTION POINT Fri, 3/23/18 WIDE Johnny Knoxville, Aidan Whytock Tim Kirkby NR Com
SHERLOCK GNOMES Fri, 3/23/18 WIDE James McAvoy, Emily Blunt John Stevenson NR Ani/Com/Fam
A QUIET PLACE Fri, 4/6/18 WIDE Emily Blunt, John Krasinski John Krasinski NR Hor/Thr
MISSION: IMPOSSILBE 6 Fri, 7/27/18 WIDE Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson Christopher McQuarrie NR Act/Adv
OVERLORD Fri, 10/26/18 WIDE Wyatt Russell and Jovan Adepo Julius Avery NR War/Thr
UNTITLED PARAMOUNT EVENT FILM Fri, 11/2/18 WIDE NR
BUMBLEBEE Wed, 12/21/18 WIDE Hailee Steinfeld, Pamela Adlon Travis Knight NR Act/Adv/SF
ELI Fri, 1/4/19 WIDE Ciaran Foy NR Hor
WHAT MEN WANT Fri, 1/11/19 WIDE Taraji P. Henson NR Com
RHYTHM SECTION Fri, 2/22/19 WIDE Blake Lively Reed Morano NR Thr
AMUSEMENT PARK Fri, 3/15/19 WIDE Mila Junis, Jennifer Garner Dylan Brown NR Ani/Adv/Com
UNTITLED TYLER PERRY MOVIE Fri, 4/12/19 WIDE Tyler Perry NR
SONY 212-833-8500
HE’S OUT THERE Fri, 12/1/17 WIDE Yvonne Strahovski, Justin Bruening Dennis Iliadis NR Hor
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 75

BOOKING GUIDE
TITLE RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE SPECS
ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD Fri, 12/22/17 WIDE Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams Ridley Scott R Dra
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE Fri, 12/22/17 WIDE Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black Jake Kasdan PG-13 Adv/Fan/Fam
PROUD MARY Fri, 1/12/18 WIDE Taraji P. Henson Babak Najafi NR Thr
WHITE BOY RICK
Fri, 1/26/18 WIDE
Matthew McConaughey,
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Yann Demange NR Cri/Dra
PETER RABBIT Fri, 2/9/18 WIDE James Corden, Domhnall Gleason Will Gluck NR Fam/Ani
ALPHA Fri, 3/2/18 WIDE Kodi Smit-McPhee, Leonor Varela Albert Hughes NR Act/Dra/Thr
SLENDER MAN Fri, 5/18/18 WIDE Joey King, Julia Goldani-Telles Sylvain White NR Hor
SOLDADO Fri, 6/29/18 WIDE Josh Brolin, Isabela Moner Stefano Sollima R Dra, Cri
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3:
SUMMER VACATION
Fri, 7/13/18 WIDE Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez Genndy Tartakovsky NR Ani/Com/Fam
THE EQUALIZER 2 Fri, 8/3/18 WIDE Denzel Washington Antoine Fuqua NR Act/Thr
BARBIE Fri, 8/8/18 WIDE Amy Schumer NR Com
CADAVER Fri, 8/24/18 WIDE Stana Katic, Shay Mitchell Diederik Van Rooijen NR Hor
GOOSEBUMPS: HORRORLAND Fri, 9/21/18 WIDE Rob Letterman NR Com/Fam/Hor
VENOM Fri, 10/5/18 WIDE Tom Hardy Ruben Fleischer NR SF/Act
THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB Fri, 10/19/18 WIDE Fede Alvarez NR Dra/Thr
HOLMES AND WATSON Fri, 11/9/18 WIDE Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly Ethan Cohen NR Act/Thr
UNTITLED ANIMATED SPIDER-MAN FILM Fri, 12/14/18 WIDE Bob Persichetti NR Ani/Act/Fam
THE NIGHTINGALE Fri, 1/25/19 WIDE Michelle MacLaren NR Dra
SILVER AND BLACK Fri, 2/8/19 WIDE NR Act/Adv/SF
THE ROSIE PROJECT Fri, 5/10/19 WIDE NR
MEN IN BLACK SPINOFF Fri, 5/17/19 WIDE NR SF/Act/Com
BAD BOYS 4 Fri, 5/24/19 WIDE Will Smith, Martin Lawrence NR Act/Com
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS Tom Prassis 212-833-4981
HAPPY END
Fri, 12/22/17 LTD.
Isabelle Huppert,
Jean-Louis Trintignant
Michael Haneke R Dra
FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL Fri, 12/29/17 LTD. Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Paul McGuigan R Dra/Bio
THE LEISURE SEEKER Fri, 1/19/18 LTD. Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland Paolo Virzì R Dra
A FANTASTIC WOMAN Fri, 1/19/18 NY/LA Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes Sebastián Lelio R Dra
LOVELESS Fri, 2/16/18 NY/LA Maryana Spivak, Aleksey Rozin Andrey Zvyagintsev R Dra
FOXTROT Fri, 3/2/18 LTD. Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler Samuel Maoz R Dra
FINAL PORTRAIT Fri, 3/23/18 NY/LA Geoffrey Rush, Armie Hammer Stanley Tucci R Dra
THE RIDER Fri, 4/13/18 NY/LA Bray Jandreau, Tim Jandreau Chloé Zhao R Dra
STX ENTERTAINMENT 310-742-2300
MOLLY’S GAME
Fri, 12/25/17 LTD (1/6
WIDE)
Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba Aaron Sorkin R Dra
DEN OF THIEVES Fri, 1/19/18 WIDE Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber Christian Gudegast NR Dra/Cri
GRINGO Fri, 3/9/18 WIDE Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton Nash Edgerton NR Act/Com/Dra
76 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

BOOKING GUIDE
TITLE RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE SPECS
ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD Fri, 12/22/17 WIDE Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams Ridley Scott R Dra
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE Fri, 12/22/17 WIDE Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black Jake Kasdan PG-13 Adv/Fan/Fam
PROUD MARY Fri, 1/12/18 WIDE Taraji P. Henson Babak Najafi NR Thr
WHITE BOY RICK
Fri, 1/26/18 WIDE
Matthew McConaughey,
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Yann Demange NR Cri/Dra
PETER RABBIT Fri, 2/9/18 WIDE James Corden, Domhnall Gleason Will Gluck NR Fam/Ani
ALPHA Fri, 3/2/18 WIDE Kodi Smit-McPhee, Leonor Varela Albert Hughes NR Act/Dra/Thr
SLENDER MAN Fri, 5/18/18 WIDE Joey King, Julia Goldani-Telles Sylvain White NR Hor
SOLDADO Fri, 6/29/18 WIDE Josh Brolin, Isabela Moner Stefano Sollima R Dra, Cri
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3:
SUMMER VACATION
Fri, 7/13/18 WIDE Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez Genndy Tartakovsky NR Ani/Com/Fam
THE EQUALIZER 2 Fri, 8/3/18 WIDE Denzel Washington Antoine Fuqua NR Act/Thr
BARBIE Fri, 8/8/18 WIDE Amy Schumer NR Com
CADAVER Fri, 8/24/18 WIDE Stana Katic, Shay Mitchell Diederik Van Rooijen NR Hor
GOOSEBUMPS: HORRORLAND Fri, 9/21/18 WIDE Rob Letterman NR Com/Fam/Hor
VENOM Fri, 10/5/18 WIDE Tom Hardy Ruben Fleischer NR SF/Act
THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB Fri, 10/19/18 WIDE Fede Alvarez NR Dra/Thr
HOLMES AND WATSON Fri, 11/9/18 WIDE Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly Ethan Cohen NR Act/Thr
UNTITLED ANIMATED SPIDER-MAN FILM Fri, 12/14/18 WIDE Bob Persichetti NR Ani/Act/Fam
THE NIGHTINGALE Fri, 1/25/19 WIDE Michelle MacLaren NR Dra
SILVER AND BLACK Fri, 2/8/19 WIDE NR Act/Adv/SF
THE ROSIE PROJECT Fri, 5/10/19 WIDE NR
MEN IN BLACK SPINOFF Fri, 5/17/19 WIDE NR SF/Act/Com
BAD BOYS 4 Fri, 5/24/19 WIDE Will Smith, Martin Lawrence NR Act/Com
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS Tom Prassis 212-833-4981
HAPPY END
Fri, 12/22/17 LTD.
Isabelle Huppert,
Jean-Louis Trintignant
Michael Haneke R Dra
FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL Fri, 12/29/17 LTD. Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Paul McGuigan R Dra/Bio
THE LEISURE SEEKER Fri, 1/19/18 LTD. Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland Paolo Virzì R Dra
A FANTASTIC WOMAN Fri, 1/19/18 NY/LA Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes Sebastián Lelio R Dra
LOVELESS Fri, 2/16/18 NY/LA Maryana Spivak, Aleksey Rozin Andrey Zvyagintsev R Dra
FOXTROT Fri, 3/2/18 LTD. Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler Samuel Maoz R Dra
FINAL PORTRAIT Fri, 3/23/18 NY/LA Geoffrey Rush, Armie Hammer Stanley Tucci R Dra
THE RIDER Fri, 4/13/18 NY/LA Bray Jandreau, Tim Jandreau Chloé Zhao R Dra
STX ENTERTAINMENT 310-742-2300
MOLLY’S GAME
Fri, 12/25/17 LTD (1/6
WIDE)
Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba Aaron Sorkin R Dra
DEN OF THIEVES Fri, 1/19/18 WIDE Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber Christian Gudegast NR Dra/Cri
GRINGO Fri, 3/9/18 WIDE Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton Nash Edgerton NR Act/Com/Dra
76 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

BOOKING GUIDE
TITLE RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE SPECS
THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS Fri, 9/21/18 WIDE Jack Black, Cate Blanchett Eli Roth NR
NIGHT SCHOOL Fri, 9/28/18 WIDE Kevin Hart NR Com
FIRST MAN Fri, 10/12/18 WIDE Ryan Gosling, Kyle Chandler Damien Chazelle NR Dra/Bio
HALLOWEEN Fri, 10/19/18 WIDE Jamie Lee Curtis David Gordon Green NR Hor
DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH
STOLE CHRISTMAS
Fri, 11/9/18 WIDE
Benedict Cumberbatch
Peter Candeland, Yarrow
Cheney
NR
Ani/Com/Fam
UNTITLED ROBERT ZEMECKIS PROJECT Wed, 11/21/18 WIDE Steve Carell Robert Zemeckis NR Dra
MORTAL ENGINES Fri, 12/14/18 WIDE Hugo Weaving, Stephen Lang Christian Rivers NR SF
GLASS Fri, 1/18/19 WIDE James McAvoy, Bruce Willis M. Night Shyamalan NR Thr
UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE HORROR PROJECT 1 Fri, 2/14/19 WIDE NR Hor
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Fri, 1/3/19 WIDE NR Ani/Com/Fam
UNTITLED JORDAN PEELE PROJECT Fri, 3/15/19 WIDE Jordan Peele NR
UNTITLED DOCTOR DOLITTLE PROJECT Fri, 4/12/19 WIDE NR
WARNER BROS. 818-977-1850
FATHER FIGURES Fri, 12/22/17 WIDE Owen Wilson, Ed Helms Lawrence Sher R Com
PADDINGTON 2 Fri, 1/12/18 WIDE Ben Wishaw, Hugh Grant Paul King PG Fam/Com
12 STRONG Fri, 1/19/18 WIDE Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon Nicolai Fuglsig R Dra/His/War IMAX
THE 15:17 TO PARIS Fri, 2/9/18 WIDE Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos Clint Eastwood NR Dra
GAME NIGHT Fri, 3/2/18 WIDE Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams
John Francis Daley, Jonathan
Goldstein
NR
Com
TOMB RAIDER Fri, 3/16/18 WIDE Alicia Vikander Roar Uthaug NR Act/Adv 3D/IMAX
READY PLAYER ONE Fri, 3/30/18 WIDE Simon Pegg, T.J. Miller Steven Spielburg NR Act/SF/Thr
RAMPAGE Fri, 4/20/18 WIDE Dwayne Johnson Brad Peyton NR Adv/Fan
LIFE OF THE PARTY Fri, 5/11/18 WIDE Melissa McCarthy, Julie Bowen Ben Falcone NR Com
A STAR IS BORN Fri, 5/18/18 WIDE Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga Bradley Cooper NR Dra/Mus/Rom
OCEAN’S 8 Fri, 6/8/18 WIDE Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett Gary Ross NR Cri
TAG Fri, 6/29/18 WIDE Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms Jeff Tomsic NR Com
THE NUN Fri, 7/13/18 WIDE Taissa Farmiga, Bonnie Aarons Corin Hardy NR Hor
TEEN TITANS GO! Fri, 7/27/18 WIDE NR Ani
UNTITLED 2018 DC FILM 2 Fri, 7/27/18 WIDE NR Act/Adv/SF
THE MEG Fri, 8/10/18 WIDE Jason Statham, Bingbing Fan Jon Turteltaub PG-13 Act/Hor/SF
CRAZY RICH ASIANS Fri, 8/17/18 WIDE Jon M. Chu PG-13 Com
UNTITLED NEW LINE HORROR FILM Fri, 9/7/18 WIDE NR Hor
SMALLFOOT Fri, 9/14/18 WIDE Zendaya, Channing Tatum
Glenn Ficarra, Ryan
O’Loughlin, John Requa
NR Ani/Com/Fam
JUNGLE BOOK Fri, 10/19/18 WIDE Rohan Chand, Andy Serkis Andy Serkis NR Adv/Dra
FANTASTIC BEASTS:
THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD
Fri, 11/16/18 WIDE Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp David Yates NR Act/Adv/Fan
AQUAMAN Fri, 12/21/18 WIDE Jason Momoa, Amber Heard James Wan NR Act/Adv/SF 3D/IMAX
THE LEGO MOVIE SEQUEL Fri, 2/8/19 WIDE Mike Mitchell NR Ani
ISN’T IT ROMANTIC Fri, 2/14/19 WIDE Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth Todd Strauss-Schulson NR Com
GODZILLA: KING OF MONSTERS Fri, 3/22/19 WIDE NR SF/Act
UNTITLED 2019 DC FILM Fri, 4/5/19 WIDE NR
MINECRAFT: THE MOVIE Fri, 5/24/19 WIDE NR
78 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017

OUR SPONSORS
20th Century Fox 63
Arts Alliance Media 1
Atom Tickets
Back cover
Cardinal Sound 80
Christie
Inside front cover
CineAsia 65
D-Box 31
Dolphin Seating 69
Encore by Palliser 22–23
Enpar Audio 77
GDC Technologies 4–5
Govino 13
Harkness Screens 9, 11
irwin Seating 37
LightSpeed/Depth Q 80
Mobiliario 55
MOC Insurance 7
NATO 61
QSC 21
Ready Theater Systems 75
RealD 52–53
Retriever Systems 73
Seating Concepts 39
Sensible Cinema 80
Sonic Equipment 19
Spotlight Cinema Networks 25
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 71
Stadium Savers 51
Telescopic Seating Systems
Inside back cover
Tivoli Lighting 57
VIP Cinema Seating 2–3
Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation 67
DECEMBER 2017 BOXOFFICE ® 79

MARKETPLACE
Passive Polarization
for 3D Digital Cinema
Fast, Bright, Reliable...
Quality you can Trust.
Over 2,000
locations worldwide.
Now Patented in the USA
www.depthq3d.com
BUYING & SELLING
LOOKING TO PURCHASE 3-8 screen venue
in California or south western United States.
Contact: Atul Desai 949-291-5700
HELP WANTED
SENIOR LEVEL CHANNEL ACCOUNT MAN-
AGER wanted by NEC Display Solutions for
expanding Digital Cinema group. Seeking
minimum 8 years’ experience within hi-tech,
cinema or Pro A/V industry to drive strategic
growth. Field-based, travel throughout US &
Canada required. Apply: www.necdisplay.com/
careers
FOR SALE
PRESTIGIOUS SOUTHAMPTON NEW YORK.
4 screen multiplex on 2 acres in the heart of
the village. Tremendous upside potential. Email
Southoldproperties@gmail.com or Call Ken
516-642-3116.
BISTRO CHAIRS FOR SALE: (392) Red vinyl &
(328) gray vinyl seven year old Seating Concepts
Palermo style in-theatre bistro chairs to
be available in early Spring 2018. All chairs
equipped with tray tables. Some of the seats
will require covers/repairs. Please contact
mhooker@aztcorporation.comor 972-428-2943
for more information.
CLASSIC CINEMAS is looking to sell 616 slightly
used electric 1st edition Bliss Loungers to
replace with the new Bliss Zero Lounger. They
are selling 22” wide electric reclining loveseats
in excellent condition with lit aisle and seat
tags. If interested, please call Jeremy Chupp at
770-823-1330.
USED DIGITAL PROJECTORS, (5) complete
booths including sound equipment. Three
years old. Contact seller at moviescope1000@
gmail.com.
2 BRAND NEW 3000 watts Christie Xenon
lamps for 35mm projectors. Contact: Atul Desai
949-291-5700.
BARCO 3D/DIGITAL EQUIPMENT FOR SALE:
Purchase for $55K. Equipment list provided
upon request. Contact seller at mschwartz@
pennprolaw.com.
PREFERRED SEATING COMPANY, your source
for new, used and refurbished theater and stadium
seating. Buying and selling used seating
is our specialty. Call toll-free 866-922-0226 or
visit our website www.‐preferred-seating.com.
USED DIGITAL PROJECTORS Two NEC NC1200
with two-year warranty $23,000. Six new NEC
NC900 with lens $18,000. Warranty starts when
installed. Used servers and USL hearing-impaired
equipment. Call Stetson Snell 505-615-
2913. Email stetsonsnell@enparaudio.com.
18 SETS OF USED 35MM AUTOMATED PRO-
JECTION SYSTEM (comes with Projector, Console,
Automation Unit and Platter) comprising
of 10 sets of Christie and 8 sets of Strong
35mm system available on ‘as is where is’ basis
in Singapore. Contact seller at engthye_lim@
cathay.com.sg
APPROXIMATELY 2,000 SEATS FOR SALE.
Mobiliario high-back rockers with cup holders.
Located in Connecticut. Contact (203)758-
2148.
6 PLEX EQUIPMENT PACKAGE. 6 complete
booths digital projectors/sound, 72 speakers,
seats, screens/frames, concession equipment,
computers, led signs/marquees, safe/misc
equipment. Serious inquiries only. For equipment
list email contact@digitalequipmenttechnologies.com
or call 801-548-0108 or fax 801-
281-0482.
HELP WANTED
TRI STATE THEATRE SUPPLY in Memphis, TN
has openings for experienced Digital Cinema
Techs nationwide. Please send your resume to
include qualifications, certifications and salary
requirements to fred@tristatetheatre.com
THEATRE MANAGEMENT POSITIONS AVAIL-
ABLE Pacific Northwest Theatre Company.
Previous management experience required.
Work weekends, evenings and holidays. Send
resume and salary history to movietheatrejobs@gmail.com
POSITIONS AVAILABLE
The three-screen Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Parkway Film Center in Baltimore is seeking an
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR to oversee all aspects
of running the theater and concessions. The
Film Center, a partnership among the Maryland
Film Festival, Johns Hopkins University and
MICA will open in spring of 2017 and offer
a broad range of the world’s best art-house,
independent, documentary, and classic cinema.
The full job description and application
instructions are found at mdfilmfest.com/
about-the-festival/jobs.php.
80 BOXOFFICE ® DECEMBER 2017